Bambi: The Way of the Forest Edition 2
by wilberarron
Summary: This is the continuation of the story that was written by Felix Salton. I beefed up my original story and added parts where I thought the story was thin. I also added another character's point of view. I hope you like it. I have written it in long form with one chapter. Let me know what you think.


**BAMBI: A LIFE IN THE FOREST**

**BY **

**WILBER ARRON**

Version 2

INTRODUCTION

Many of you may have read some or all of the Bambi and Stranger stories I have published at Fan Fiction starting three years ago and finishing up last year. This is NOT one of those stories. What I have done here is to attempt to write the next chapter in the Bambi story as originally written by Felix Salten (AKA Siegmund Salzman). Salten wrote two stories about our friendly deer: Bambi (1928) and Bambi's Children (1939). Disney took the original novel and made it into its classic film of 1942. For animation, I think it is one of the best-drawn animated movies in all of history. Its faithfulness to Salten's original story is another matter. Salten wrote about life in the forest, and sometimes that life can get grim. Disney mostly glossed over the kill or be killed life of forest animals and instead let Man be the villain of the piece. In this story, there is enough grimness to go around, but Man is still #1 on the list.

The original story I wrote had an unusual genesis. I had just spent months finishing my first major novel that I have since published on Kindle and Barns and Nobel (The Forest of Allund by Wilbur Arron, plug time for the author). In any case, I was bummed out on serious writing so I wanted to write something lighter. I always knew how I wanted to have the story to proceed, so I wrote this down. I hope it has some value as a work of fan-fiction. Now that the deadline pressure is off of me for The Forest of Allund, I wanted to go back and rewrite the original story. I did this for several reasons: First, I noted an interest from the public long after interest in my other Stranger stories had fallen off, Second, I also noted many of the readers for this story were from Germany, the home of Salten (Before being forced to flee because of the Nazis), Third, I wanted to hopefully take out many of the format, spelling and construction errors that were in the first story I published in haste. I am the world's worse proof reader. Part of this is because I was diagnosed as being dyslexic. To help combat this, I have also recently learned a few more techniques of proof reading that helps me overcome my problems. Lastly, I wanted to fill in some parts of the story that were thin, and I wanted to add a new point of view from a character whose point of view was not in the original story.

As before, I am again putting Bambi and his herd in as Whitetail Deer in North America and not Roe Deer in Germany. Again, that is my preference. In addition, many of you wildlife biologists out there will note I have taken more than a few liberties with deer physiology and behavior. What can I say, except this way helps the story flow better, I hope? In any case, this is a work of fiction and not a wildlife documentary. Salten wrote his work as a metaphor and I have done the same. The period is again set near Salten's time of the 1920-1930s. The setting is in the Southeastern United States.

I freely admit that I have no claim on this story. According to the sources I have, Anna Wyler held the rights for Felix Salten's works as his daughter. I understand Twin Books now holds the rights to his books. Disney, of course, owns the rights to the movie. For this effort, I tried to take both tales and merge them into a single story that drew on both book and movie for inspiration. I hope you enjoy my story.

If this work is deemed to have any worth, I dedicate to the memories of both Felix Salten and Walt Disney. Two masters of storytelling.

WA

April 2018, May 2019

P.S. Let me know what you think. Your reviews and comments are the ONLY thing I have to go on when it comes to independent judgment of my work. If you enjoy the story, or did not, please let me know why.

Thank You

WA

And Now

A hundred years ago in a forest not so far away. . .

CHAPTER ONE: SPRING

The snow was finally gone.

Bambi looked over the meadow as it was turning from dull brown to dark green and smiled with relief. Soon life would come back to the forest after a long, hard, and cold winter. He looked back at his brown ragged winter coat now shedding in the warmer days. Even his own large and muscular body was lean and wasted by the effects of the hardest winter he had ever seen in his four seasons living in the forest. Many of the older deer had not survived the cold and snow. His own Father had barely survived the cold. He was still ill with a deep cough. It had been a hard time for all.

He took in a large breath through his nose. There were the familiar smells of other deer, most of them he knew: scents of squirrels, rabbits, a fox, possums, and the like were all around him. One odor he did not like smelling was the putrid scent of decomposing flesh that still lingered in the air from those not strong enough to survive until the spring. Their bodies had frozen after they died and were only now thawing out. Their remains would make a feast for the foxes, coyotes, crows, and the other predators that roamed the forest. At least none of his family had died during the snow.

The great light was coming up filling the open meadow with brightness. He moved quietly back into the thickening foliage of the forest not wanting anyone to see him in the open expanse before him. While it was not yet the time for Man, that did not mean there was no danger about. He felt safe only when concealed in the green of the forest. He moved along the forest floor avoiding the more common deer paths. He tried not to disturb the leaves from last season and give away his location. His Father had taught him to avoid the common paths. There were other dangers besides Man that also knew those paths. Not every deer died by being hit by the killing stick. As he walked around the open expanse of the meadow, he could see in the far distance the place he was born in. It had burnt along with much of the forest during the fire when he was a yearling. Looking at that now barren cold, space, he felt a pain in his heart. Even though it happened over three seasons ago, the memory of his dead mother still was hard to bear. He moved quietly on walking away from that painful space and looked up at the old hollow tree trunk of Friend Owl. Another voice he would never hear again. Another victim of the last winter's cold.

"Good morning Young Prince," he heard from above.

Upon a nearby branch rested a young owl born two springs ago. Young, fit, strong, he had taken over the territory of the old owl. Such was the way of the forest, one died and another took your place.

"Greetings, Oswell," he said. "It looks like you survived the winter well enough."

"If not for the old owl's hollow, I would not have," the owl squeaked. "In there it was warm. When he died, I took it over. Do you think he'd mind?"

As if it mattered what the dead thought. "No, I do not," he answered calmly. "But I will miss him. I knew him since I was born near here."

"I am cleaning it out. I am going to look for a mate soon. It is time to make and raise my own chicks." He then yawned widely. "Good day, Young Prince," he said and closed his huge yellow eyes.

That was the way of all things. "Well good luck," he told him and walked quietly on.

He traveled around the open meadow and toward the small stream he played near when he was a fawn. He stopped and leaned over to take a drink. When he finished, he looked up and saw a familiar tree log. As he watched, an old gray-hair rabbit came out. The light gray and white fur he remembered as a fawn were all gone. The hare was all white with age. The rabbit moved slowly, cautiously and always looked upwards. He saw him eat some of the new grass by the log. Other than his age, he looked fit. The rabbit looked up at him and called out.

"Bambi, you are alive."

He smiled and walked over to the log knowing his friend did not like being too far away from its safety when it was light.

"Greetings Thumper," he said warmly. "I see you made it through the winter."

"I did," he said glumly. "No one else made it. "Mela died in mid-winter. A ferret took her body."

"What about the two liters from last summer?" he asked.

"They scattered before the start of winter," Thumper added. "I have no idea if any of them are alive or dead."

"It has been a bad winter," he said. "Even some deer died. The predators have easier food to catch than you."

"I hope so," he said still looking around carefully.

With that, Thumper stopped and seemed to stretch his legs. He could hear the bones creak. He could plainly see how stiff his old friend was getting. Finally, the rabbit looked up at him. "Bambi, I am getting old. I do not think I will see another spring after this."

He wanted to object, but he realized that was futile. Thumper was old as a rabbit. Soon he would pass on like all the others including his mother, and one day, himself. Only the forest lasted; not those who lived in it; not even Man. A breeze then brought another scent to his nose. It was a fox and nearby. Thumper also smelled it and without a word disappeared quickly back into the log and his borough at the end. He stood up and sure enough, the light brown and red shape of a fox was scurrying through the grass. His nose was close to the ground and his body tight as if ready to pounce.

"You are too late, fox," he said aloud. "Thumper smelled you and is now back in his borough."

The long pointed nose face came close, but not near him. The fox was studying him as if considering him for a meal. The predator was watching him for any sign of lameness or injury the fox could take advantage of. He stood up straight letting the smaller animal know he was in fine shape.

"Do not try it, fox," he warned. "I have killed dogs, I will kill you."

The fox took a step back. "I am sorry, Young Prince," the agile creature said. "I did not recognize you. I would never attack you or your Father."

"That I believe," he said with scorn. "There is nothing here for you. There are still dead animals on the hillsides near the large lake that are thawing out as the snow melts. You will find better eating there."

"Thank you, Young Prince," the Fox said and scampered away.

When he was out of sight, he bent over and spoke loudly into the log. "He is gone, Thumper. I will see you later."

"Perhaps," he heard a voice echo through the log.

He walked on into the thickening forest. He knew this area well. He lived here with his Father and his family. He had seen neither for sometimes since the last snow fell. The lack of food made all the deer spread out to find something to eat. With spring, they would all come back, he hoped. He walked on stopping from time to time to eat some new spring growth grass. After the bland, soggy, snow-covered grass, he survived on during the winter; the taste of new growth was refreshing. It was also better than eating tasteless pine bark many had to do just to survive.

He was going now into the deep forest; the part that he and the other deer lived in now. That part of the woods had not burned in the great fire two seasons ago when he first bred Faline. He made his way around the lake toward a hill on top of which was a cave he knew his Father liked to stay in. From there you could see the entire forest without ever being seen.

He walked among the trees looking about him for unwanted company. Man seldom went here and he could smell no trace of him. Other than the bears, there were no hunters here. He could relax as much as he dared here. He moved silently around the dense canopy of trees leaving no trace of his passing. As he started to move up the densely wooded hill, a brief scent caught his nose. It was familiar, but it was so brief, he could not place it. Then it vanished. That put him on his guard. He moved on carefully until he got to a patch of thick foliage. He stopped and got down low on the ground.

"Tish," sounded from far away. It was someone rustling up leaves. Someone was following him; following him downwind so he could not smell him. Whoever it was, he was quiet. He waited and from time to time heard an ever so slight movement of leaves. He also heard occasional light footsteps. As they approached, the wind shifted slightly and his nose picked up two different scents. He knew at once, who was behind him. He smiled because of how well they were moving. No Man could hear that. He remained absolutely still and sure enough, he saw motion in the trees. There were two deer following him. When they got closer, he could see it was a male and female yearling deer. They were both entering their second spring. He watched them get closer and then stop maybe ten lengths from him.

"Is he near here?" the young doe whispered.

The young male stopped, looked around, and then started to smile. "No, sister, he is right in front of us, aren't you Father."

He stood up so he could clearly see both his children, Geno and Gurri born last spring. He was happy; they had learned their lessons well on moving silently through the forest. Both he and his Father had spent many nights with them after last Season before the harsh winter started. They had been practicing. They were getting very good at this and other skills needed to survive. Geno was smart and even Gurri caught on quickly.

"Where are you two going?" he asked.

"Mother is getting ready for the birth of her new fawns so we went out on our own," Geno said. "It is time for us to find our own way in any case. We came here hoping to find both you and Grandfather."

"We are hoping you will teach us more like you did before the winter got so harsh," Gurri added.

"I also need to start learning how to fight," Geno said. "I will have a rack this year and I want to know how to use it."

They were both right. It was time they went out on their own. They would stay this season with the other yearlings. They were still too young to join the herd males and the bred doe with fawns. It was hard to believe that just one spring ago he remembered two twitching mounds of spotted brown fur that Faline had given birth too. It did not seem possible they had grown so big so quickly.

"You have both done well," he said proudly. "It is time for you to learn more. You have already learned much. I hardly heard you behind me. You still need to practice some more but soon you will be as silent as your Grandfather."

"Indeed they will," a deep voice said from beyond some trees.

Out walked an old, gray deer. His Father looked thin and ragged like he did, only more so. He had never heard him or smelled him approach from downwind. Gurri walked over to him and licked the side of his face in affection. The Great Prince returned the jester. Geno then went up and rubbed his side against the old deer's flank. Both of his children had learned from the Great Prince of the Forest, as he himself had learned. His father was the oldest and wisest deer anyone knew of.

"I had almost forgotten how good that feels," his Father said. His red eyes were shinning. Suddenly he started to shake in the flanks and then turned quickly away from them. He started to cough hard and loudly. Soon something red and awful smelling came out of his mouth.

"I am sorry," he gasped. "It is the sickness from last winter. I have not gotten over it yet."

"Grandfather, can we help?" Gurri asked.

The old deer shook his head no and then turned and coughed some more, but nothing came out this time. "No, my child, you cannot help me," the old deer said looking toward her. "It will soon pass."

"Are you sure, Grandfather?" Geno said not looking convinced.

"I am very sure," his Father said with finality. "I am also sure it is time you understand that there are other things you need to learn that go with getting your rack other than fighting. The first thing to know is that once you get your rack, you will become a deer for Man to hunt. That means he will start trying to kill you. You need to know more to prevent that from happening to you."

Geno swallowed hard as did he, but his Father was right. His Father had a big rack, he had a big rack, and Geno would likely have one. "Yes Grandfather," his son said meekly.

His Father then turned toward Gurri. "You will likely be a big doe like you mother and Bambi's mother so you also need to know how to stay away from Man. It is not only males Man uses his killing stick on."

"Yes Grandfather," Gurri said quietly.

The old stag nodded his approval. "Good, now both of you go find resting places and your Father will come over and teach you. I need to speak with your Father alone so if you two will excuse us."

With that, both his children walked away into the forest still being as quiet as possible. Once he was gone, his Father turned to him. "They are learning well. I am proud of them," the old deer said before starting to cough again.

"I know," he said. "I am glad Geno is showing interest in learning. He will need it. I think he will be a herd male next season, perhaps a senior male soon afterward. I am most surprised at Gurri. For a doe, she seems very smart.

"Doe can think too, my son. She may also be of help to you one day."

His Father stopped, coughed again, and then turned and walked silently away. "Come with me, My Son, I have to talk to you and time is short."

His father led him away from the hill with his cave and toward the forest behind the hill. Most of it had burnt with the fire, but the undergrowth was growing back. On more than one occasion during their walk, his Father had to stop and cough again. More red foul smelling liquid came out of his mouth. This was not just sickness from the winter. This was something else and he worried about him. They finally came to another hill he vaguely remembered on his walks with his father as a yearling. When they got to the top of the hill, his Father lay down in the grass.

"You see the little stream down there?" his Father asked.

"Yes, Father," he answered.

"That is where I first met your mother. That is where we played along the bank. She made me feel young again. I bred her there and you were the result. It was the best time of my life and she gave me the greatest gift of my life, you. That is why I came here to end."

"End!" he thought. "Father, what are you talking about?"

The old stag put his head on the grass as if waiting for something. "My illness is not going away. It is getting much worse. Soon, I will be gone from here. You must now take my place as Great Prince of the Forest. You are ready to do this. I have taught you everything I know. You must now take over from me. It is time I go join your mother. I have heard her voice at night calling to me. I must go to her."

"Father, NO," he protested. "I am not ready to lead like you did."

"Yes you are, My Son," the old deer said. "In any case, there is nothing more anyone can do for me. Take my old cave. From there you can see what is going on in the entire forest without anyone seeing you. Teach Geno and Gurri as I taught you so they may follow you when it is your time."

He could not do this. He just could not let his Father die like this in front of him. There had to be something he could do. "No, Father, I will not let you suffer and die here," he said fighting back tears.

His Father raised his head took at him and smiled as if he was a fawn again. "You have no choice, My Son, it is my time. I taught you all things have their time. This is mine. I do not mind. I have lived a good life. Do not worry about me. I will die here, but I will not suffer. I have already made sure of that. Now go and leave me. In this time, I am alone. Please leave me here. Know that I always have loved you and I always will. You are the best in me."

With that, his Father put his head back on the grass and closed his eyes. He did not know what to do. He stood there paralyzed. It was not long before he saw the futility of it. He felt the coldness in his stomach that his Father was really going to die here and there was nothing he could do about it. He turned and walked slowly off the hill. He reached the bottom of the hill and started back to his Father's cave when he caught the scent of fat and earth. It was a bear, a large one. He had seen this bear before. His Father had even told him his name once, but he had forgotten it. It moved by him ignoring his presence and slowly walked up the same hill he just came down. He realized if the bear saw his Father, he would be easy prey for him to eat. He started to turn around and run up the hill to warn his Father when he realized in an instant the bear was not here by coincidence. His Father said he would not suffer. Now he understood. This was his Father's plan.

He closed his eyes fighting back his sobbing like a newborn fawn again. He turned quickly around and ran off into the woods. He did not want to see or hear what would happen next.

He spent the night in his Father's cave looking out over the meadow. Around him, he could see the dark shadows move as the trees moved with the wind. He could not believe that just like that, his father was gone. It was almost worse than when he lost his mother to Man. He felt alone. He was now the Great Prince of the Forest, yet he did not even know where to begin. What could he do; what should he do? It was all as black as the night around him. At times he sobbed, at times he felt like curling up like a fawn afraid of the forest around him. Toward morning, he realized his Father would have never acted like this, and neither would he.

He left the cave just before dawn and walked toward the clearing he knew Faline liked to sleep in. It was just after the greater light rose. He walked up quietly past sleeping birds. The owls and night animals were returning to their rest and the animals of the day would soon rise. He took in the air searching for strange scents. He found none. All about him, he heard the cries and calls of the forest. All was as much at peace as he could expect considering the 'eat or be eaten' way of the forest. It was full light when he came to the clearing. He saw her at a distance.

She was still beautiful. Sleek, perfectly shaped doe with the most pleasant scent of any deer he ever knew. He could see a few gray hairs and maybe her lines were sagging a bit. She was also hanging low from the fawns she still carried. Those were his fawns and it brought back the memory of how he had made them with her. It was a pleasant thought. Soon they would come into the forest, live their lives, and then leave. She left her clearing and emptied herself well away from the entrance to the thicket. She walked slowly seeming to bend over to eat with effort. He walked out of the bush and came up upon her. She smelled him at once.

"Bambi," she called out and walked over to him. He kissed her passionately and for a long time. Even if it was not The Season, he still liked doing this. It made him feel warm inside. She then broke away.

"Bambi, what is wrong?" she said with apprehension. "It is not the children, is it?"

"No," he said. "Geno and Gurri are fine. I saw them yesterday with my Father, just before…" and then he trailed off.

"What is it?" she asked gently. She still had a smooth voice.

He took a deep breath and resolved he would not start crying again. "We all met my Father. My Father sent the children away and took me to a place by the small stream near his hill. It was where he met my mother. He was very sick. He lay down, closed his eyes, and now my Father is gone."

"Gone," she said with a shrill.

"Yes, he is gone" he repeated in a low voice. "We will see him no more."

"Oh, Bambi," she said and nuzzled him along the side of his mouth. Then she suddenly stopped and drew back. "That means you are now the Great Prince of the Forest."

"Yes," he muttered, "And I am not ready for it."

"What will you do?" his mate asked.

He turned to look at her. "I will do the best I can," he said plainly. "I must go tell the others; the herd must know."

"Of course they must," Faline said.

He then looked at her and her bulging stomach. "How are you and them?"

"I am fine, the fawns are so heavy. They will soon be born, if not today, then soon. It is tiring to walk around with them."

He nodded feeling bad that he was partly responsible for her discomfort. "When it is your time, send Gurri or Geno to find me. I am living in my Father's cave, but I will stay around here for a while. I must go find the others now."

"I will send them," she said "You should go, they will be eating on the meadow," Faline said.

He left her next to her thicket and made his way to the meadow. As he got there, he saw the herd males all in a group. So many he could not count them. There were Ronno and Kragas, both males he had beaten for Faline. Most of the other males he did not know well. Most would never count for much in the herd. They were neither big enough nor strong enough to be a senior male. Maybe five males in the herd were strong enough where they could be leaders. They must be hungry if they were out in daylight this late. There was certainly no Man around. With that many deer, he would have easily killed one by now.

He walked openly on the meadow and as he bellowed out to call all of the males over to him. He stood alone as they all came over to him. Ronno and Kragas were up front. As soon as they all got near him, he spoke up trying to keep his voice from breaking.

"I called you all over here to tell you that my Father is gone. We will not see the Great Prince of the Forest again."

An utter stunned shock showed on all the faces. His Father had been here all their lives. Now he was gone and it seemed impossible. It was like the sky or trees had disappeared.

"Gone," Kragas repeated.

"Yes gone," Bambi said. "He was old, and sick from the hard winter. He told me goodbye and then he was gone."

"This makes you The Great Prince of the Forest," Ronno spat out in disbelief.

"No, I will not call myself Great Prince of the Forest," Bambi said. "I will take my role as herd leader, but only my Father was the Great Prince. That is something you earn as you get older."

"Good," Ronno said in relief. "Look, Bambi, it is no secret to say I do not like you, I never have liked you, and I never will like you. I respected and listened to your Father because of his age and wisdom. I do not respect you in the same way."

That sounded like a direct challenge to his place as herd leader. No herd leader can put up with that. He leaped forward and rammed his head against Ronno's chest hard, knocking him back.

"Anytime you want to become herd leader, Ronno, you can come see me and I will beat you like I did before," he said letting his anger show through. "Anyone here, who thinks they want to be herd leader, is welcomed to try."

With that, he stepped back to see if there were any takers. As he expected, no one stepped forward.

"There is one more thing," Celon a five-season male spoke up. He was also one of the senior males.

"What is that?" he asked.

"I have heard a new deer was seen near the big open field on the other side of the large lake. He is a male and he is big, but I have not seen him."

He thought about it for a while and then told the herd males, "If you see this deer, come find me."

All nodded approval. "One last thing," he said. "Having so many deer in the open and in the daylight is asking for one or more of us to die. Keep that in mind and remember what Man can see, Man can kill."

He turned around and headed back to where Faline was. He had other things to worry about now.

CHAPTER TWO: ARRIVALS

He lay on the ground resting in the daylight. The air was warmer, but still had a trace of coolness in the early morning. By now the grass was growing like summer and that would continue until near The Season. About him, the trees were growing new leaves, the bushes were growing thick, and the grass was coming up in huge patches. Even berries were appearing. The last few days of hearty eating had gone a long way to restore him from the privations of winter. The others of his herd were also eating and putting on weight. The hunger of winter was done. He loved spring. It was the time to renew life.

He lay near Faline's den. The previous night, Gurri had found him and told him that her mother had told her the time of birth had arrived for her fawns. While the birth of his children had nothing to do with him, prowling foxes, badgers, and other smaller predators would make an easy meal of a newborn fawn, if they could find it. He would make sure that would not happen. He had stood watch on the hill in his old forest with his Father when Geno and Gurri were born. He did not go there this time. The reason was they had relocated to an unburned part of the forest. Another reason however was the memory of his Father was was still too painful. He still felt partly empty inside like a part of him was missing. Instead, he lay on the ground and watched a pair of newly mated bluebirds build a nest in the nearby tree. About them, other birds did the same. Overhead, almost out of sight, soared the hawks and other predators of the air looking to swoop down for a meal to feed their own chicks.

The great light was high overhead when he heard the light footsteps of another deer close by. He looked and saw Gurri walk out of the trees and toward him. She was already starting to fill out like her mother did when they were the same age. She would be a beautiful doe, like her mother. That should give her the pick of males. He only hoped she find a good one. He coughed once to let her know he was there and she came quickly over and lay down next to him. It was as if she was a fawn again. Like her mother, her scent was pleasing to his nose. She nuzzled him and he did the same to her.

"I wanted to see if I could help Mother," she told him.

"That is good of you, my daughter," he said still nuzzling her affectionately. "However, doe like being alone at this time. I am just here to make sure no one disturbs her."

"Yes Father," she said. She then looked up and her eyes started to tear. "I also wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about Grandfather. I do not understand why he did not tell us when we were there. I would have wanted to say goodbye to him."

"My Father kept things to himself," he told her. "He only told me when he was ready to die. I think he did not want to bother us with his passing."

Gurri nodded and then leaned against him as Faline would do. "I suppose so," she muttered, "But I know Geno is angry. He feels that he should not have learned of Grandfather's death from Thumper."

He nodded his large head. "He is right, daughter, he should not of, but I was so hurt by his sudden passing, I could not do it. All I told was your mother and the herd males."

There was a sudden cry from above and the sound of an impact. There was a shrill cry of pain and then quiet. He looked up and saw one of the hawks had dived and drove its sharp claws into a flying pigeon and was even now flying away to feed it to its nest of young.

Gurri looked up and saw it too. "More death," she said.

"And life," he added. "That is one of the most important things my Father taught me, was that was life and death are both connected. One did not live unless one eats and one did not eat without killing something."

His daughter shook her head no. "We do not kill," she said.

"We eat grass, leaves, and flowers," he said. "They live too. We eat them, then others eat us, and still others eat them. It is all connected. For us to live, then the plants, or parts of them, must die. For the others to live, some of us must die. In the end it is all the same."

"Well I do not feel like dying yet, Father," she said with her pleasing grin. "I want to find a good male and have my own fawns."

He looked down at her and suddenly realized his own daughter was now part of this same rhythm of birth and death. What could he do about it? The answer was simple and immediate, nothing. Her life and death, as well as his and all those around them, were a part of the greater forest. A part he knew he could never do anything about. He smiled at this growing doe next to him. "I hope you will, My Daughter, but for now I worry about your mother. It is never easy to give birth."

It was late in the day when he noticed movement by the thicket. He saw Faline come out and stagger away into the woods heading for a nearby stream. She looked tired. The birth must have been difficult.

"Gurri, go see if your mother needs help," he told her. In an instant, his daughter was off. He got up and walked over to the thicket. When he got within several lengths of it, the odor of blood came to his nose. Although very faint, he could smell two scents coming from inside the shaded thicket. He put his head into the small opening and there lay two quivering mounds of brown fur. He went over and smelled them more closely. Both smelled normal, both looked healthy, and both were doe. He had two new daughters. Both were asleep. He took his head out and then walked a short way away from the den and lay down in front of the opening to the thicket. It was a while later Faline came back along with Gurri. His mate looked at him and smiled.

"You have seen your daughters?" Faline said.

"Yes," he said with glee. "They both look healthy."

He then got up and walked over to his mate and then in front of Gurri, kissed her gently on the mouth and nuzzled her along the side of her face. "Thank you again for this greatest of all things," he whispered in her ear.

His mate just leaned against him and once again he understood why he had chosen this doe has his only mate and companion. The other males may breed as many doe as they could during the season and then leave. He was more than content to have just this one. His Father's death may have partly emptied him, but Faline and his children filled him.

"That one," she pointed to the fawn on the right I will call Lina. The other is Eta, I named after my mother's sister."

"Was it hard?" he asked.

"Not hard, but long," she said. He voice still sounded a little ragged.

"Go rest," he told her gently. "I will stay here. No one will bother you while I am here."

"Thank you," Faline said and the turned to Gurri. "I am fine now. Thank you, daughter, but you should go now and join your friends."

He nodded his approval and his daughter ran off raising her white fluffy tail.

"She reminds me of you," he said.

"I hope she is as happy as I am," Faline went on. She then went inside the thicket next to the fawns and lay down.

He continued to watch the den closely. He was a bit disappointed he did not get a son this time, but there was always next spring. That is assuming they were both still alive by then. He stayed near the fawns for a few days until they were old enough to follow their mother. He watched with amusement how they would stumble, fall, get up, and fall again. Soon they got up and stayed up. Then they found the source of nourishment that would sustain them. As soon as they were ready to leave the den, he left them and watched from a distance like his Father had done when he was born. He would follow them unseen out onto the meadow just before dawn with all the other doe and the new fawns. There were many and they all looked healthy. For that he was glad. It was late at night when he was out on the meadow. It was not long before the greater light rose. He usually wanted to have finished feeding by now, but Feline had been delayed taking care of the fawns and he would not leave her alone. When he was feeding on the fresh spring grass, Celon, came up to him.

"That new deer is nearby. I saw him yesterday," he said.

"If he comes to the meadow, I will talk to him," he replied.

"I noticed he usually eats at night and is off the meadow by now," Celon continued.

That sounded like a smart deer. He did the same most of the time and not just around the start of the Season when they all knew Man was nearby. "Thank you, Celon; I will come to the meadow earlier tomorrow tonight."

The large male moved away leaving him alone. The other males like Kragus and Ronno just ignored him. The first sign of the greatr light appeared so he moved further away from the meadow and hid in the nearby trees. As the light increased, he noticed many deer, mostly the yearlings, wandered onto the open meadow. That bothered him. Any man in the forest would have his pick of deer now. Granted Man usually killed older deer, but no one could ever be sure of that. Faline took the fawns back just as the first glow of light appeared. He followed them back to Faline's thicket and watched it from afar for the rest of the day.

The next night he was back near the meadow. He waited for the lesser light to rise. He looked over the meadow closely. At first, nothing changed, the herd males and the senior males came into the field, and then late that night he saw something move quietly through the trees at the far end of the large opening. A large male walked into the meadow and immediately started to feed. He was definitely no deer from his herd. He watched him eat. He was as large as he was and looked about as old, maybe a year older. He had a large flank and huge heavily muscled shoulders, legs and neck. It was too early to tell about his rack, but it look like it be a big one like his. He looked about and smelled the air. Sensing no danger, he walked into the open meadow toward the new deer. As he got closer, the new deer stopped eating and looked up at him. He moved forward keeping his head high and not showing any threat. When he got within a few lengths, he stopped and introduced himself.

"I am Bambi, herd leader of this forest. I have not seen you before. May I ask your name?"

"I am Filon," the deer spoke up. His voice was strong. "I have heard other deer talk about you. Is there a problem?"

"No," Bambi said. "As herd leader, I try to know all the deer in the forest. You are new here. Are you from another forest?"

"Yes," he said plainly. "I am from the forest on the other side of the great meadow Man grows food in."

"What brings you here?" he asked.

"My other herd and I did not get along well, so I left. I crossed the large open meadow until I saw this forest so I came here."

That put him off. Deer are herd animals. They follow the herd. That someone left his herd made him suspicious. "Very well, welcome to this herd. I see you only feed during late night. Is it because of Man?"

"Yes," he answered. "My Father taught me that Man does not like night so it is safer being in the open."

"That is wise," he nodded. "My Father taught me the same thing. Who is your father?"

"His name was Alass," Filon said. "He was a senior male in the other herd. He is gone now as is my mother."

"So is my mother and father," he said. "Will you join this herd?"

"I do not wish to join any herd," the big deer said almost as if insulted. "I am not a herd deer. I do what I think is best and not because some herd thinks so. That is why I stay mostly by myself."

It was a little like hearing his Father again. "You are correct, it is also wisest to be alone," he added. "One is free to think better when they are alone, but being near a herd can warn you of danger. It is also easier to get doe in The Season."

"I never had a problem getting doe," the male said. "Those who try to stop me, end up regretting it. As for danger, it does not matter. We all end up dead in the end. Whether some Man using his killing sticks to make holes in us, or a bear runs us down and breaks our necks, or a pack of coyotes mauls us to death. In the end, how we die is unimportant. We all become food to feed someone. The trick is to stay alive as long as you can and enjoy life as much as you can."

That was his point; others help you stay alive. "Yes, but a herd does that. A herd watches for danger better because they can look in all directions at once. A herd can spot danger earlier so it is easier to flee. With a herd, there are many deer instead of only one or two who are the prey. It is easier to get away from danger when there are many fleeing at once."

Filon nodded, "That is true, Bambi, but a herd thinks like a herd. A herd will do the same thing over and over again because they cannot think of another way to do it. A herd takes time to decide. A herd is only as wise as the most stupid member. When a herd flees, they flee as a herd. Those that hunt us know this and so they know how the herd will behave when they come after us. I rather do something different and stay away from danger. This is why I avoid herds. So far it has kept me alive through five springs."

He had never heard of anything like that before. "Is that why you left your old herd?" he asked.

"Yes, I would do things differently. I would travel at different times and to different places than the herd. I did not run the same way as they herd did. I did not go to the same places and at the same time as the herd did. I did not do what the herd asked, and it made many of the herd mad I would not do as they said. The herd males also did not like I beat a lot of them for doe at the time of The Season. Eventually, so many got so mad, they asked the herd leader to chase me out. He was polite and only asked me to go."

Bambi looked him over. He was big and he looked strong. "With your size and strength, I am surprised you did not beat the senior males and become herd leader yourself."

"Oh please," Filon said and turned away. He could hear him laughing. "Me herd leader," he chuckled with his back to him. He then turned quickly around to face him again. "If I told the herd the great light was shining, none of them would believe me. No, I was different, and that made me untrustworthy. Besides I am not the kind of deer that worries about others. I come, and then do what I want, and then leave. A herd leader does not do that. He stays and looks after his herd. I have no interest in doing that."

That was just the opposite of what his Father had taught him. "Someone has to lead the herd," he explained. "If there is no leadership, then the herd is more open to all kinds of danger."

"Perhaps," Filon said, "But I find that I really do not care about most of the herd. I care about myself: keeping myself alive, finding enough food for myself, and getting doe when The Season comes. I depend on myself to flee from danger, not some herd."

That did not sound like any deer he ever knew, but he had only known the deer around here. Who could tell what other deer do? He knew that his Father would have never done that and neither would he.

"Well that will not happen around here," he told him plainly. "I would not expect to make many friends in this herd with what you told me, but I will never ask any deer to help me if they do not want too. Any deer that does not want to be in this herd is free to leave. What I will tell you is this: as long as you do not challenge me, or try to hurt any other deer, or do anything to harm the herd, you can live around here either alone or not. That is your choice and your fate if it comes to that."

The big deer just nodded his head. "That is how it should be," he said with equal plainness. "I will harm no deer that does not try to harm me or try to take my doe. I will also not deliberately harm your herd, but I may not do what they ask me. My only concern is not becoming food for someone to eat."

"This herd is much more than food for anyone, including Man" he said tersely.

Filon laughed again, "I am sorry, herd leader, but you are wrong. All we are is food for others. Whether it is Man, bears, badgers, or coyotes, in the end, we all end up as food for someone else."

"I am sorry, I disagree," he said. "I am more than food for Man."

"Believe what you want," Filon said. "That is your affair. I do not care."

Filon was certainly a strange deer and with that attitude, he could see why he was not popular in his other herd. He did not say anything, but he felt he be as equally unpopular here. He hoped he was a good fighter.

"As you want it," he said. "As I said, as long as you do not interfere or harm my herd, you are welcome."

"Thank you," Filon said. "Now if you excuse me, I need to eat. I like being off the meadow well before the greater light comes.

He walked away thinking what a strange deer was here, but he remembered many deer here thought he was strange too. He walked off the meadow. When he was in the trees, he smelled two familiar scents; it was Geno and Gurri.

There were noises behind him. He turned and saw several yearlings and two season deer going on the meadow. He looked in the distance at the first hint of light from the greater light and the new day. Soon anyone will be able to see who was in the open. He turned and spoke loudly.

"You should all be off the meadow by the time the greater light rises or Man may see you," he called out.

The deer turned and looked at him and after a moment's pause went back to eating the grass. Maybe Filon had a point after all. He turned to make sure he was off the meadow. Both Geno and Gurri remained well concealed in the trees. No chance Man could see them. He walked up and Geno approached.

"That new deer is big," Geno said.

He nodded in agreement. "Yes, and he is strange too. Give him plenty of room. He does not seem very friendly. Now, what are you two doing here?"

"We were curious about the new deer," Geno said. "Also it is time to start teaching us again. I want to know more about what it means to be a herd leader and how to live in the forest with Man around."

"Me too," Gurri added.

They both had a point. "Very well, I will be staying near your mother for a while. After dark tonight, come and see me and we will start again."

All three of them walked away occasionally stopping to eat some leaves or grass growing in the deep forest. He smelled the air, as did his children. None of them picked up any sign of danger. For now, all was peaceful. They all slept together near Faline's thicket.

That night, he went over again with both his children on how to follow a deer or Man without them ever seeing you. That meant always staying downwind of them so your scent would not carry to them. At the same time, their scent and any sounds they made could easily carry back to you. It also meant walking silently through the forest as not to give yourself away. Something he also practiced again with both of them. When it got closer to morning, he sent Gurri away. It was time he started to teach Geno how to care for a herd like his Father had done with him. It was also time to start teaching him how to fight. Neither type of training would a doe ever need. When he sent his daughter away, it seemed him to anger her. However, doe did not fight for leadership and mates, males did. When they finished with the lesson, his son and he found a place and rested together.

The next night he went over again on how to lose someone who is following you. You did that by changing direction often so they could not stay downwind of you. Sometimes you had to hide behind nearby trees and in thick bushes, so they would walk past you. In the winter, that would not work and it would never work if there were dogs nearby. He kept this up until late at night when again he sent Gurri away so he could practice again with his son.

Fighting at Geno's age was difficult as it was for him when his Father taught him. His son was not big enough to try to fight him. He could always use his superior weight and strength to push his son back anytime he wanted too. Geno also had no rack to use on him. He taught him how to stand and how to prevent someone trying to get position on him to push him off balance. Once off balance, another deer could easily drive his face into the ground and beat him. He also pushed against him both to get him to stand better and to strengthen the muscles in his legs. Those muscles along with the muscles in his neck gave him the power to push away other deer. Serious fighting practice would have to wait until later near The Season when their racks would be bigger.

As important as fighting was, what was more important was how to watch over the herd to make sure it was safe. That is where he had the most trouble while growing up. He almost drove his Father to despair at how long it took him to understand. Most male deer seem to know how to fight as soon as they are born. Looking after the herd is not part of that inborn knowledge. You can only learn it slowly on your own. Few deer can learn it. During one lesson, Geno listened and after he finished just shook his head in confusion.

"Father I understand what you say about warning the herd about danger. I saw what you did with the yearlings on the meadow, but how do you know when to warn or even when to act. You do not warn about every danger in the forest. How do I know when it is time to speak or stay quiet? Why would anyone in the herd even listen to me?"

Those were almost the exact questions he had asked his own Father when he was Geno's age. "It is not easy," he said. "If you warn too much, the herd and others will not take you seriously. If you warn too little, then deer may die. The best thing I can tell you is that if you sense danger and no one else does; then tell them. If the danger is obvious, then stay quiet but take action yourself. The others will act by looking at the way you act. Otherwise, keep your eyes, ears, and nose open. If you are careful, very often you can sense danger before others can, especially if they are young or foolish. This is why we spend so much time in learning how to move without leaving a trace or sound. Often you can find danger before danger finds you. As to why deer should listen to you. They will listen if you are right most of the time. If you go around shouting at every little thing, the herd will ignore you. If you warn them about danger and it turn out to be correct, most deer will remember that and start listening to you."

"Yes, but what if they will not listen?" Geno went on.

"Then there is little you can do," he said lowering his voice. "Some deer will never listen and most of these deer die horrible deaths. If they are lucky, Man or other predators will kill them quickly. If not, they die a slow, painful death. You cannot stop this and you never will. At best, all you will be able to do is save some including those you care about the most."

"So you are telling me we warn them, and hope for the best?" Geno said still looked confused.

"I do not like putting that way, but yes. That is why one of the main things a herd leader must do is gain the respect of all around him so when he does warn them, they will know he is serious and they will act. If they do not, that is their fault. You can do nothing about it. What you must do is work all the time on gaining their respect and their confidence in you so even your enemies will heed your warnings."

"So we will warn deer like Ronno and Kragus who do not like you, Father."

He smiled broadly. "Yes, my son, I will warn my enemies because even though they do not like me, I have never seen them yet ignore any warnings I give them. They may hate me, but they still have the same right to live as you, your sisters, your mother, and I have. All of us have the same right to live in the forest, as long as we are smart enough to survive the dangers here."

That ended that lesson, but there were many other lessons that went on all spring. Some fighting lessons he even invited Gurri to attend because he showed them how to kick with their hoofs. However, it was soon afterwards he sent Gurri away altogether. She knew enough for a doe about how to survive in the forest. Although he would still see her from time to time, his efforts had to remain focused with his son. He had to learn and learn quickly. As the spring went on, he felt the first budding of his rack and saw the first bumps of his son's first rack. Inwardly he felt pride. He also remembered when his first rack started to bud. His father and the other male deer would tease him. At the time, he felt it was his Father just making fun of him. Later he understood the jest was to get him angry so he would try even harder. He did the same to his son. No doubt, his son felt the same way he did when he was that age. If he lived long enough, Geno would come to understand.

The fawns grew fast and soon they needed no help from him. He would occasionally follow them at a distance to check up on them. They only paid attention to their mother who had all she could handle without him being nearby. He noticed that Lina seemed well focused and acted quickly to her mother's call. Eta was more fun loving and wild like he was. Both were fast and both looked strong. When one of the foxes came near the three of them, Faline started to run and they ran with her. He had also ran and got between the fox and his daughters. The fox took a look at him standing there and left.

Overall, it was a pleasant spring.

CHAPTER THREE: GURRI

It was late and Gurri was hungry. She walked out alone onto the meadow and started to eat the new spring grass. She felt safe; it was still dark and she knew it would be a while before the great light rose. She saw many of the herd males along with many doe and fawns eating. She ate at the edge of the meadow, away from everyone. She was tired of the other deer, especially the yearlings, wanting to get her to ask her Father some question about something that was not important. She felt resentment at being asked just to be a messenger. They could ask him themselves, if they dared. Besides, her Father made it clear that he was training Geno to do that, not her. She had been sent away. She was not needed. Her Father thought she was just a doe and would not be doing anything important that a male would. Her brother was important; she was not. This made her even angrier. She was just as smart as her brother was, she was just as fast, and understood just as much, but she had no rack so she did not matter. It was not only silly in her eyes, but unfair.

She continued to eat until she felt full. She ate fast; she would chew her cud later when she relaxed during the day. When she finished, she went over to the small stream and drank her fill of water. As she did, she heard the tread of light footsteps behind her. She did not look back and instead moved off until she was downwind of the stream. The smell of a male deer came to her, but he was still behind her. It was not Ronno's or the other herd male's scents she knew. This smell was new.

"You know my Father is much quieter when he sneaks up behind me," she called out.

She then turned around and saw the new male deer was behind her by several lengths. "Filon, is it not?" she asked.

"Very good, young doe," the male said in a friendly voice. "I can usually sneak up on other deer, but I can see your Father has taught you well."

"I wish he would," she said. "Right now he is only interested in teaching my brother. I guess only males with racks are smart enough to lead in the forest."

The new male stopped about three lengths away. "That is how things are," he said. "Males are the ones that fight for doe and their place in the herd."

"And doe are just meant to be bred and have fawns," she said with disgust. "Well, I can think too, and I can do a lot more than make fawns. At least I will when it is time. So what do you want?"

"Direct too," Filon said still smiling. "Nothing like that I assure you. My taste in doe runs toward older doe nearer the age of your mother. You are still too young for me, although, in one or two more seasons, that may change. You are cute."

"Thank you," she said formally. She still did not fully trust this male. "Now what do you want?" she repeated.

"I was curious about a yearling doe that eats by herself and not with the other yearlings," he said. "I also wanted to give your Father a message and you see him more than I do."

"I eat by myself because the other yearlings keep asking me about my Father. They are not interested in me, but only in my Father. I also eat alone because I do not have in any one of them the least amount of respect for. All they do is boast and brag about how big a deer they will be," she said. "Now what is your message?"

"Tell your father I saw fresh footsteps of Man near the edge of the meadow by the fallen oak tree. Man has been watching the meadow from there."

"Hmmmmm, I do not like that," she said. She then looked toward the place the great light appears. It was still black.

"Will you see him tonight?" Filon asked.

"No," she told him. "He is with my brother. I will try to see him later. I will give him your message. If you are right, I think it is time to get off the meadow, I have eaten all I need."

"Wise doe," Filon said. "I am still hungry, I will see you later."

With that, the big male walked away and started to eat the grass. She walked away toward the trees and her resting place. From there she could see the meadow and still be completely hidden. She lay down to give her meal a chance to fill her hunger. She chewed her cud for a while and then went to sleep.

Sometime later, she awoke hearing footsteps and voices. For a moment she was afraid that Filon had come looking for her, but these footsteps were loud and the voices familiar. It was just the yearlings wandering onto the meadow. She looked again and saw the first glow of light. She stood up and spoke loud enough for them to hear.

"Filon has seen Man tracks at the edge of the meadow," she called out the group.

They stopped to look at her for a moment, and then a few of the louder males started laughing at her and moved into the open as if it was nothing. Well, she had tried. She moved off and emptied herself well away from her resting place. Above her were singing birds looking to start a new day trying to find food to feed their chicks. She thought about trying to find her Father but decided she would do that tonight. She lay down again and soon drifted off to sleep.

"WHAAAAAMMMMM," echoed loudly through the trees. The noise snapped her awake. She froze in place.

He looked at the meadow. It was full light. Many of the deer, mostly yearlings, were running wildly off the meadow in a panic seeking the cover of the nearby trees. Some were bleating in fear. The other deer scattered in many different directions. A smell of burning filled her nose. She saw smoke rising in the meadow. It was the first time she had heard or smelled this, but it must be one of Man's killing sticks from what Father had told her. Soon there was another smell just as awful: a putrid smell of sweat and dirt. It was new to her. She remained absolutely still; she knew better than to move around with Man so close in the forest.

She looked back out onto the meadow. On the ground lay one deer. It looked like a yearling male from the size and shape of the body. It lay still, and she could not tell who it was. Then other motion caught her attention. Two other figures walked on the grass toward the down deer. They both walked slowly each carrying a long stick. One figure was bigger than the other was. It was Man. She had never seen Man before. They came up to the down deer and hit it with their sticks. They then cut a big branch from a nearby tree and took all the leaves off of it. That branch they put it through the legs of the down deer. After using some kind of vine, one Man picked up each end of the stick. The picked up the deer and carried it away. She waited until the scent of Man and the smoke had gone before she eased away from her hiding place and headed back toward her mother's thicket.

She had gone only a short way when she heard her name called out from behind her. She turned around to see and saw Filon coming up quickly from behind her. At the same moment, she smelled a familiar scent. It was her brother followed closely by her Father. She went behind some trees where they all could hide from view.

"Gurri what happened?" her Father asked.

"Man was on the meadow," she told him. "He used a killing stick on a yearling male. Then a large and small Man came and took the deer away."

"Were you on the Meadow?" her father asked sternly.

"No," she said angrily. Her Father should know her better than that. "I was off the meadow lying down in my hiding place before the first sign of the great light. I was going to come find you because Filon told me he had found a Man track at the edge of the meadow."

Filon spoke up. "She even warned the yearlings as they went to the meadow. I heard her myself. The other deer just laughed at her and walked out onto the meadow anyway."

"Of course they laughed," she said bitterly. "I am just a doe and a young one at that. No one ever listens to me. They only listen to older males with racks."

Her comment seemed to take both her Father and Filon by surprised, but she felt she was right. If her Father had warned those yearlings, one more of them would be alive now.

"I think they will listen now," Filon said trying to make her feel better. "The rest of the deer now know better than to ignore you. Experience is the best teacher, as long as you can stay alive long enough to learn."

"I agree with Filon," her Father told her. "You warned them, they did not listen, and one deer died for their stupidly. Maybe they will listen now. There was nothing more you could have done to prevent this."

Her Father was also trying to make her feel better, but it did not help. "I am sorry, Father, but if they would have listened to you because you are the herd leader and the other deer respect you. They would have listened to Filon because he is a large male and they respect him. I am just a yearling doe and I feel none of them respect me in the least so they did not listen, nor do I think they will listen to me in the future."

She could not bear to stay there any longer. She ran off into the deeper forest. She heard her Father and Filon still talking about something, but she did not care what it was. The only thing she wanted to do then was to be by herself. She moved through the thicker woods sniffing and walking slowly and quietly. It took her a while, but she managed to go past her mother's den and on to the smaller lake. She reached its cool waters and took a drink. She kept testing the air as she walked around always within the concealment of the trees. She smelled a bear had passed by, but long ago. She smelled no other danger. It was after the great light was overhead that she came upon the old down log she recognized. Her Mother had brought her and her brother here when they were fawns. She stopped to eat some grass and saw most of it was already gone.

"Thumper," she spoke into the tree log. "It is Gurri."

A few moments later the older now white rabbit appeared and looked up mouth open as if amazed. "It is you," he said. "My, how you have grown since I last saw you. Where are your brother, father, and mother?

"Mother has two new fawns to raise," she explained. "Father is with my brother teaching him all about the forest. They do not need me at home and so I am out on my own. I was walking by and thought I stop to say hello."

"You are getting large, you look like your Mother," Thumper said looking her over carefully."

"How are you doing?" she asked.

The old hare looked away. "Oh, I found a new mate this spring. I have a new litter of rabbits. This will be my last liter I think."

"Why is that?" she asked. He looked old yet healthy.

"I am getting old," he said as a complaint. "Soon I think I will join your Grandfather."

The way the old rabbit said it shocked her. "Do not say that Thumper. You are my Father's friend and mine. You will live for a long time to come."

"I like to, but I doubt it," he said. "I am the oldest rabbit I know. None of my sisters are even alive. I do not even know if any of my children are still alive."

She was going to answer when an odor crossed her nose. It was a fox. "Run, Thumper, the fox is here."

He might be old, but the old hare vanished in an instant. She stood by the log and waited. Sure enough, the fox appeared silently out of the bushes.

"Still looking for Thumper," she told the red furry animal with the white long tail. "I am afraid you missed him again."

"I am patient, and there are others," the sly fox said looking at her closely. The fox was sizing her up.

"Thinking of eating deer today?" she asked. "That would be a mistake."

"Oh no," the fox pleaded. "I would never eat something as big as you."

She remembered what her father told her about foxes: 'Believe nothing about a fox except that it is always hungry.'

"Very well," she said and pretended to turn away. The moment she seemed to take her eyes off the fox, she saw it shift its weight to it rear legs and leaped at her.

She quickly brought her leg and hoof up as the fox jumped up for her throat. The hard hoof caught the fox in the face. The blow knocked him off-balance and he instead fell at her feet. She raised up to stomp the fox hard on the ground, but he saw it coming and rolled away. In a flash, the creature was on his feet again.

"You tried to kill me," it screamed.

"I will do more than try," she growled and lashed out hard with her front legs again. This time the fox was ready and jumped back.

"Lost your taste for deer," she said eyeing the creature well. "You should try something smaller," she said and charged.

She did not think she would hit the fox, but it did scare him off. The last she saw of him was the white tail disappear into the bushes. She went back to the log.

"He is gone," she told Thumper.

The old rabbit peaked out of the log. "That was like your Father," he said.

"That was the second time today someone thought that because I was a doe and a yearling, I was weak and stupid. It is also the second time today they paid the price for their mistake."

Thumper gazed at her in disbelief, "You remind me of your Father when he gets mad. He gets that same look in his eyes like he is ready to fight anyone."

Inside she did feel ready to fight anyone. There was still angry from before, and now this was just making her madder. She had to calm down. Mad deer can make stupid mistakes as her Father said to Geno. She calmed down but did not take her eyes off the bushes and trees around her.

"I am sorry, but it has been a bad day for me so far," she explained.

Feeling calmer, she then told the old rabbit the story of what happened to her and how she felt about it. As she did, she felt the anger diminish inside her. She knew she had no right to burden Thumper with her problems, but it felt better to share it with someone else. Who else could she tell, her Father? He would ignore her like the rest.

When she finished, Thumper put his right paw near his face as if thinking. "I see," Thumper said. "I am afraid you are right. The other creatures of the forest respect strength and that usually means males fighting for mates. It is not just deer. All sorts of creatures do that. That struggle is what drives the forest on. Doe usually do not have the strength to gather that respect."

"Well just because I am a doe does not mean I cannot think. I am my Father's daughter and I do see things. My Grandfather and Father taught me that much."

"So I see, well I must go," Thumper said and disappeared again into his log.

She walked away still keeping an eye out for the fox just in case he had not learned his lesson. She did not feel like seeing her parents or the other deer. She was near the lake. Beyond that, there were the hills her Grandfather had lived in. It looked safe enough so she decided to go there. There was no deer here. She was alone. That suited her now. She ate in a small open area near the trees and drank in a small stream that came off the hills. It was peaceful here. Might not be a bad place to stay. Latter, she got up and started walking around the forest. She kept smelling the air and changed her direction often. There were few predators by the open meadow here. Her Grandfather did not like visitors, so she was only here twice with her brother when they were fawns. She decided to go to her Grandfather's old cave to look around. She climbed the hill looking carefully about her, as she got higher up. Near the top, she stopped. In the air was a faint scent. It was not a scent she smelled before. It smelled big like a bear, but not the same. She still did not want to meet it. She stopped and decided it was too dangerous. She began to go back the way she came. Halfway to the bottom, she heard branches cracking behind her. That was all she needed to hear, she ran.

She flew down the hill and ran toward the lake. The trees and bushes flew by her as she ran fast. There was no noise from behind her. Whoever was chasing her did not follow her far. She ran back to the lake before she felt tired and stopped. Everything was quiet around her. She looked around and found a hiding place in the trees behind some bushes. There she lay down on her knees and rested. Other than the usual sounds of the forest, that was nothing going on around her. It was easy for her to sleep into the night.

It was late evening when she got up and tested the air. Nothing was around her she could hear, see, or smell. She was hungry and grass grew alongside the lake. When she tasted it, the grass was delicious, so she ate her fill and drank from the lake. It was still later when her nose picked up a familiar scent. The odor was coming from the other direction she had run earlier. It was not the same scent as before on the hill. This smell came from another deer. A male deer she did not know. She went back into the trees and waited.

A short while later, another male deer walked carefully out of the trees from where she had come and moved slowly toward the lake. It was another yearling like her. Like her, he was testing the air with his nose. The male was small, barely her size. There was a patch of white on his chest, but otherwise, his fur was the same. He was not much to look at. He did not even look strong enough to be a herd male. He was also alone, which was unusual for a yearling. She watched him timidly approach the lake and start to eat, all the while looking nervously around him. He was careful or scared. She watched him eat and then drink from the lake near where she just did. He did not look like a threat. He seemed unaware that she was nearby. Quietly, she moved out of the trees and came up behind him. He turned quickly, glanced at her, and started to run.

"I will not hurt you," she called out. "I am alone like you are."

The male stopped suddenly and turned to look at her. She moved out into the open where the male could see her even in the dim glow from the lesser light. Slowly, as if he expected her to attack him, he backed up. It was amusing to her that a doe like her could scare a male, but this was not a regular size male. This one was small.

"Who are you?" the male asked in a high-pitched voice.

"I am Gurri," she said and slowly walked over to him. When she was closer, she asked him, "I do not know you. Please tell me your name?"

"I am Wesal," he said meekly and bowed his head.

"I did not expect to find many deer out here. Most stay near the meadow," she said.

Wesal bowed his head as if in shame. "I do not go to the meadow. The other deer do not like me."

She looked him over. Granted he was small, but he was not deformed or had a bad scent. There was no obvious reason other deer should shun him. "Why don't they like you? You seem alright to me."

"I am small," Wesal moaned. "The other deer push me around because they know I cannot fight back like they can. They tease me and chase me so I left the meadow to live out here. Not many deer here and there is no one to bother me."

At least the other deer did not try to do that with her, but she was large for a doe like her mother. "Yes, I know other deer are cruel at times. They also do not like to listen. I got tired of it myself and came out here."

Wesal looked at her. "Why would they not like you? You are not weak. You are beautiful, not like me," he moaned.

She found that funny, but did not want to laugh. "Thank you," she said. "You are not that small."

"Yes I am," he said. "I am small and weak and that is the only thing other deer look at is size and strength. Nothing else matters to them."

"Except for being a doe," she told him. "The males will listen to other males, but never to a doe. You warn them of danger and they ignore you. If I was a male, they at least listen to me."

"I like to listen to you, your voice is nice," the small male said smiling.

"Thank you again," she said. "She looked the deer over. Other than being small and not having the heavy muscles other male deer have, he was rather cute, but not for her. She wanted a male like her Father or brother, not something small like him.

That is when the thought struck her suddenly. What then was the difference between what other males felt about her and what she felt about this male? She wanted a big male because all doe want the best males to make their fawns. That was the way of the forest. The strongest always got the best doe. In the same way, all males' respected strength, and doe and small males like Wesal were not strong so they did not respect them. This was also the way of the forest. That may not be right, but it was the way things were. She was doing to Wesal exactly what the other males had done to here. She was acting the same as the males she despised. That disgusted her and she decided on the spot she would not do that again. That was a mistake she would not make again.

"Did I say something wrong?" Wesal spoke up.

That broke her concentration and she looked back at the yearling male who only came up to her eye level. "No," she said. "I was just thinking about something."

"You looked far away," he said.

"I felt far away," she answered, "But I am back now."

Looking at the sky around her, she knew it would soon be light. She had not slept much yesterday and she felt tired. She looked at the small male just gazing at her as if she was something out of a dream. Inwardly she felt a sudden impulse.

"It will be light soon," she noted. "It is time to rest. There are large animals around here I do not want to meet."

"Like the bear," Wesal said. "He drinks at the lake at dawn and just before night. I stay hidden at those times. So far he leaves me alone."

So that is what she smelled yesterday. It did not smell like any bear she knew. She was glad that she ran. No deer can hope to fight a bear and live. "Thank you for telling me that," she said. "I need to empty myself. You see that large tree that leans toward the water?"

"Yes, I sleep near there," the male said.

"I will meet you there shortly," she said and dashed off into the trees to empty out her insides.

When finished, she went back to the lake to take one more drink of water and then met Wesal by the tree.

"I will go with you," she said. "Show me where you sleep."

The male swallowed hard and led her on to an opening among some bushes. It was big enough for two. She lay down in the clearing and motioned Wesal to lie near her. He did so nervously.

"Other than my sister and mother, I never slept near a doe before," he said.

"I have not slept near a male. Do not worry about it. The Season is still a long ways away," she said. She put her head down and went fast asleep. She rather liked it.

For the next three risings of the greater light, they ate and slept together by the lake. Wesal was right about the bear, but the large black creature did not come any closer than the lake edge. She stayed close and found she liked talking to this male. She felt no wish to have him bred her, but it was nice being near someone who liked her for what she was and not who her Father was. No doubt, her parents would have a fit at her choice, but he at least liked her and did not look at her as if she was some prize doe ready to be bred. Nor did he boast about his power and influence. The main thing was he listened to her; for a male, that was almost a new experience.

On the fourth rising, she was just going to go to sleep as the greater light rose. When she looked out toward the hill her Grandfather cave was at she saw it. In the distance, past her Grandfathers old cave was a cloud of smoke rising in the air. That meant there were more Men in the forest. She spent a sleepless day listening but could hear nothing more. As soon as it was dark, she left Wesal and told him to stay hidden and not to go out during the day. He moved quickly back to her mother's thicket. When she got there, it was empty. Her family would be in the meadow with the fawns.

She went to the meadow and sure enough, she saw her Mother, her younger sisters, and her brother eating. Filon and her Father were talking. She moved over to them. As she got closer, they all stopped eating and looked up at her.

"Where have you been?" her Father asked sound annoyed.

"I have been out on my own," she said flatly. "I was over by Grandfather's old cave. There was smoke rising from beyond it. I think Man is in the forest again."

Her Father looked surprised. "They are early this year?" her Father said. "They are not usually here yet. Are you sure?"

She tried not to get angry, but words just slipped out. "Go over and see for yourself if you don't believe me."

She spun in her hoofs and started to walk away. "Gurri, wait!" her Father commanded.

She took a deep breath and turned around. "Yes," she grunted.

"I need to know for sure about this, that is all," her Father explained.

"If Geno told you this, or Ronno, or even Filon, you believe them, but not your daughter. Why, because I am a doe and I do not know anything. Like I said, look for yourself."

She turned again and moved away.

"Gurri Stop!" her Father yelled. She kicked her hoofs up and ran into the forest. She tried to hold back the tears in her eyes and went back to her new place. At least there was someone there who would listen to her.

CHAPTER FOUR: GENO

He watched as his sister ran off into the night. For a moment, he wanted to go after her, but saw that his Father had not moved; therefore, he did not move. He saw his Mother's brown eyes glare at his Father to do something, but he did nothing. Instead, he went back to talking to Filon as if nothing happened.

"You do have an unusual daughter, Bambi," the new deer said to his Father.

"Yes, she is not your normal doe," his Father said sternly. "If she was only a male," he muttered quietly.

"Father, are we going to go see if Man is in the forest?" he asked.

His Father looked at him and seemed to think for a moment. He then shook his head no. "No, we are not going to go look. I am staying here with the herd. You, my son, are going to go look. It is time to see if you are learning what I have taught you."

Suddenly his heart rose in his chest. His father was asking him to find the danger. "Would you like me to leave now?" he asked.

His Father looked outward at the sky. "No, it will be light soon and if Man is in the forest, they will be hunting. Wait until tonight and then leave. You know where it is at?"

"Yes," he answered quickly. "It is by the smaller lake near the hill where Grandfather had his cave."

"Correct, you will go tonight. You will just look for the smoke. Do not get close to Man. If you see anything, come back here and bring your sister if you can."

"Yes, Father," he said.

His Father then turned back to Filon. "Did I tell you my old friend Thumper the rabbit told me Gurri was attacked by a fox near his borough? She actually kicked the fox in the face and then charged him to run him off."

Filon stepped back laughing. "That is good," he chuckled. The big deer then looked back at his Father and Mother. "I mean no disrespect by saying this, but I wish your daughter was two seasons older. She would be the perfect mate for a deer like me."

His Father smiled openly. When he turned to face his Mother, she was not smiling at all, but glaring even harder. He wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. He went on eating and then followed his Mother and Father home where they rested for the day.

That night after it was dark, he left his Father and went off by himself. His Father had warned him again of the dangers of Man and the forest. His Mother just told him to be careful. As he was leaving, he heard his Father say to Mother, "He has to learn sometimes."

He was proud his Father trusted him enough to do this on his own. It showed he was getting older and ready to take his place in the herd. Already the first buds of his rack were growing out. He knew he would not have a big rack like his father's this year, but he have a rack. It would get larger as he got older. All he had to do was to live long enough for that to happen. He moved carefully among the trees testing the air often as his Father and Grandfather taught him. He smelled badgers but nothing larger than that. The coyotes did not come to this part of the forest. He knew bears lived in the hills, but they seldom came here. Just as his Father showed him, he changed direction from time to time to make sure nothing was following him. It took him a while, but by morning, he was near the lake. He found a good hiding place and lay down to rest for the day. It was still too far away to see or smell anything of Man.

That evening after he woke, emptied himself, and ate some nearby grass and leaves. He traveled on still moving carefully. It took him a little while before he got to the far end of the lake. The hills were on the other side of the open water. All the trees were tall and green. The fire his Father told him about did not burn this part of the forest. The trees by the other larger lake were hardly more than chest high. You could not hide a pheasant there, never mind a deer. He glided quietly among the trees around the side of the lake. When it was completely dark, he saw movement on the other side of the lake. Two deer were out eating and he could not tell who they were. If it was his sister, then he was on the wrong side of the lake. He cursed his stupidity at taking the wrong direction. He turned around and went back the way he came. By the time he worked his way around to the other side, they were gone. It was also getting late. The great light would rise soon.

He moved through the trees and towards where he thought his sister was. He walked near the lake and that is when he caught the scent in his nose. A smell of bitterness remained in his nostrils. It was smoke from Man. He could see nothing in the darkness. He moved up to the edge of the trees near the lake edge to hide. He was moving there just inside the trees when he heard someone whisper from behind him.

"Geno," he heard his sister's voice. He turned quickly He saw her familiar shape near the trees. He backed up and ran over to her.

"Where is Father?" she asked looking around.

"With the herd, he sent me instead," he told her. "Is that smoke I smell?"

"Yes," she said and led him back into the trees. Once there he picked up another scent. A young male it smelled like. It was not a powerful scent, but one that was nearby. His sister led him into a thicket. There stood a small male barely up to his shoulder.

"This is Wesal," she said.

"Wesal," he repeated. That deer was no threat to him. He wondered why a male that small would be near his sister. Certainly, he could not be interested in her. Any male he knew could drive that puny thing off without taking a deep breath.

"We can rest here," his sister suggested.

He nodded agreement and lay down near his sister has he always did. Wesal did the same on her other side. That bothered him, but he said nothing.

"A bear likes to drink at the far end of the lake in the early morning and near night," Gurri said. "It is best to stay away from him."

"I agree, have you see any sign of Man?" he asked his sister.

"No," she said. "I can smell only the smoke. I dare not go to the hill. That bear has taken over Grandfather's cave and chased me when I first came. I got away and found this place. I like it here."

"Father will not like that someone else is using Grandfather's cave," he said.

Soon the first light appeared he heard distant noises. Soon after that, when it was full light, a noise echoed through the forest.

"WHAM," they all heard, but it was far away. It sounded to him like it was on the other side of the hill. That told him what he came to find out.

"Well, that settles that," he said to his sister. "It is Man in the forest. As soon as it is dark again we will need to go tell Father."

"You go tell Father," Gurri told him. "I am staying here."

That sounded foolish to him. "With Man in the forest," he said. "You want to die here?"

"Man is far away and you know it," his sister barked at him. "Besides, Father does not listen to anything I say anyway. He did not believe me before; he will not believe me now."

"Of course he will. I am with you now," he said.

"That is right," she said shrilly. "He will believe me now because my brother will be with me and my brother will be a prince of the forest one day. He has to believe you. I am just a doe that is only good for breeding."

He shot to his feet his face getting flush. "That is nonsense," he spoke down to his sister.

"No it is not and we both know it," she shouted. "Otherwise he would not have sent you to check up on me."

"Not so loud, Man is near," the male spoke up quietly. Advice from a puny male infuriated him even more.

"Quiet from you, or I will drag you carcass all over the forest. My Mother can beat you to a pulp."

The male just shrunk away from him. Gurri, however, shot to her feet and put her face right next to his. "That is right big male," she growled. "That is the only answer you know. You are prince here; we all must obey you. Well not anymore."

He tensed his muscles. "Father told me to find out if Man is in the forest and then come back to tell him. He also said to bring you, and I will."

"No you will not," she bellowed back. "I am staying here unless you are going to beat me to a pulp also."

He knew this was not the time and place to have a family argument, but the idea of his sister staying with this waste of a deer infuriated him. She deserved better than this thing.

"Fine," he told her. "Stay here if you want. I do not care, but I am going back. I have other deer that depend on me and I will not let Father down."

"Listen!" the other male said.

He was going to pound the runt before he heard it. It was a yelping noise. Father had told him about that noise before. "Dogs," he said.

He dropped to the ground quickly. His sister lay out flat close to the small male. The yelping was getting louder. They were after something. The barking then changed, became even louder, more vicious. He could hear the dogs calling back to Man. "Here…Here, He is here," many of them shouted.

"They are after something," he whispered, "And it is not us."

"Look," the male said and pointed his nose.

They could barely make out the edge of the lake, but he could clearly see a large bear running out of the forest with dogs just behind him. The bear ran blindly until he went into the water and stopped. The next moment many large dogs came out of the woods and jumped on the bear. They bit him, tearing the flesh on his back. They also scrapped him with their claws. The bear let out a roar and hit one dog with his huge front paw sending it screaming along the ground. He then reared up on its hind legs and bellowed out a roar that made the forest shake.

"DAR TOFFF," he heard something shout followed by the shrill sound like a birdcall. It made his ears ring. In an instant, the dogs leap off the stricken animal and ran to their master.

"WHAM…WHAM…WHAM," sounded in quick succession.

He saw the bear pushed back like hit by something. He fell on his back. He tried to roll over.

"WHAM," came again. The bear called out once and then fell into the lake. After that, the huge animal lay still.

"Do…Not…Move," he said slowly. "If they see us, we are all dead."

He looked up at the trees. The wind was blowing over their backs and across the lake. The dogs could not smell them from the far end of the water. Fortunately, Man called off the dogs. Many men in red fur came out of the woods next and put vines around the bear. They pulled the large carcass out of the water. Then several men started cutting into the brown bear with their claws. They cut the poor animal open spreading its insides along the edge of the lake. Man cut huge pieces of flesh from the animal and carried them away. The even cut the skin and fur off the animal. They threw the bones in a pile. Some of the dogs chewed on them. All the Men were having a good time cutting up the bear. They would stop and put something to their mouths. By the time the great light was high overhead, they were all gone. The bear was a pile of bones and another pile of his insides lying in the open. The smell was awful even from this distance. Above them already the buzzards were circling making sure Man was gone before they started their feast. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was close," he whispered. "If the wind had shifted and the dogs picked up our scent, I do not want to think what would happen."

"The poor bear," Gurri sobbed. "I feel sick."

"Does Man do that to us," the male asked looking ready to vomit.

He felt bad too, but there was one good thing. "That bear would have easily killed the three of us and eaten us whole," he reminded them. "That is one less bear we have to worry about."

"What now?" the small male asked.

He knew the answer from his talks with Grandfather. Men do not hunt at night. "We wait here for night and then make our way back. We will have a great story to tell to Father and the herd when we get back."

"Can I ask something?" the small male asked meekly.

"What!" he spat out in disgust.

"Did Gurri say you were a prince of the forest?" he asked.

"Yes," he said flatly. "Bambi, our herd leader, is our Father, and our Grandfather was the Great Prince of the Forest."

"Oh," he said in surprise. "I am sorry, I did not know," he muttered and looked at Gurri.

Did he hear that right? "You did not tell him?" he asked his sister.

"No, it did not seem important," she said.

"I am sorry. If I would have known, I would not have asked you to stay," the runt said to his sister.

That explained it. This weakling did not know whom he was with. His sister should have had the smarts to tell him. "Very well, that explains many things," he said calmly. "I apologize for my earlier rudeness, but my sister is not for some half-grown yearling that will never even be a herd male."

"Isn't that up to your sister," Gurri said with an icy tone.

He raised his head back in shock. "You want him?" he said with disbelief.

"I want whoever I want. It is my choice, not yours or Fathers," she said. "I did not tell Wesal because I wanted to see if he liked me just for what I am and not because I am the daughter of the herd leader."

It was all nonsense to him. The fact that he was Bambi's son made him who he was. He was born with duties and responsibilities. His father had taught him that since he was a fawn. He was supposed to lead the herd: not now of course, but in the seasons to come. That was what he was here for. That is what he was born for.

"I did not know," the male said. "If I did. . . .," and this his voice trailed off. He looked to shrink in size before him and curl up into a ball.

"A dog by the lake," Gurri said.

He looked up and saw a single dog walking along the side of the lake. The dog was big and vicious looking with large teeth. The black animal smelled along the ground looking for something. The dog came up to near where they had eaten and stopped. The dog then looked up at them and started barking.

"Get ready to run," he told the others.

"Hii yoooo," he heard Man call from the edge of the lake. The dog stopped barking and ran back toward the Man.

He took a deep breath. He then looked down and saw the male looking at his sister. "I did not know," he said with hesitation. "If you want to leave, I will not mind,"

His sister actually smiled at the male. "I can stay if you want?"

"What!" he called out. "Stay with that." He said pointing his nose down at the small male who even now was shivering in fear. "You are the herd leader's daughter and deserve a much better mate than that."

Before Gurri could answer the small male shot to his feet. "She can stay if she wants too," Wesal said and glared at him.

That was all he would take from a male like that. In his rage, he dropped his head and charged the male. He collided with the small body. The force of his charge threw the male out of the ticket they were hiding in. He then charged again and almost trampled the smaller body underfoot.

"No," Gurri cried out.

He then backed up and waiting for the smaller male to stagger to his feet before he hit him again. That was all it took. The small male ran off toward the lake. He watched him flee in panic bleating in fear. He ran past the trees and into the open of the shore near the lake. He watched him run and then he heard it.

"WHAM" came the sound from nearby.

The small legs flew out from under the male and he hurtled along the ground. Almost at once, he saw the large dog run toward them. He thought the dog saw them, but instead, the big black animal jumped on the small male, biting and tearing into him with his claws. There was a loud scream from Wesal and then he lay still.

"Run!" he yelled.

Gurri did not move. She stood frozen in place. A look of disbelief covered her face. This was no time to hesitate. He went up and kicked her gently in the rear. That brought her out of her stupor and she took off with him. Behind them, he heard the dog barking. It was chasing them.

"Hii yoooo," he heard Man call again followed by the squeaking birdcall. The dog went quiet, but they kept running.

They kept running through the trees until he was sure no one was following them. He then stopped and tried to get his breath back. He looked over to Gurri. She looked almost ready to drop to the ground in exhaustion. He stood there still breathing deeply. He slowly felt better again. They had escaped. At least he and his sister had.

He saw his sister raise her head turned toward him looking as if he was something repulsive. She yelled out ran up to him and lashed out with her front hoof. He leaped back but it still scrapped along his chest. She came at him again. This time he was ready. He leaped aside and brought his own foot up hitting her in the left flank. The impact knocked her over. He felt an urge to stomp on her, but then he realized this was his sister. Instead, he backed away with his head down on guard against a further attack.

"Are you crazy?" he yelled out. "It is bad enough Man and his dogs want to kill me, I have to guard against you now?"

She got up slowly favoring her left side. She was looking wide eye at him her entire body was shaking with rage like his earlier.

"You killed him," she screamed.

That confused for a moment. "The male?" he asked. "I did not kill him. Man and his dog killed him."

She continued to look at him as if he was the vilest of creatures. "You knocked him out of the thicket and beat on him. You chased him into the open. You knew Man and his dog was there. You killed him."

That made him even madder. "You think I am going to let that worthless male talk that way to me," he shouted back. "That male was nothing. He would never have amounted to anything. I am surprised he survived the winter. No yearling male talks to me like that. I am a prince of this forest. My father is herd leader. If I let a male behave like that near me, I would be the laughed out of the herd. What you saw in that thing I have no idea."

She took several deep breaths looking even angrier with him by the moment. "What I saw was someone who liked me because I am Gurri, not the herd leader's daughter. I liked him, not because he was some big male with a huge rack, but because he wanted my company. I liked him, Geno. Does that make any sense to you? I liked him. Now he is dead. You made sure of that. You and Father are not going to be happy until you ruin my life. You are a monster."

It was all more nonsense to him. Doe picked the strongest males they could find and not the weakest. Liking him was not part of that choice.

"You are being foolish," he told her. "A male like that would count for nothing in the herd. Now come with me. I still have to find Father and tell him what we have seen."

"NO!" she screamed. "I will never again go with you. You are no better than Father is. I am leaving. I am sick of being the daughter of the herd leader, I am sick of others telling me what to do, I am sick of no one listening to me, and I am sick of the herd and the rest of you. I am going somewhere where they do not know me and I can live my life in peace and see who I want to see."

Gurri then turned quickly, lifting her white fluffy tail. She quickly ran off into the forest disappearing into the trees. He watched he go just shaking his head. He had no time for this silly doe thing. He had to finish something for his Father. He kicked the dirt with his hoof and then looked down. Gurri had cut his chest with her hoof. The cut was not deep. It was only bleeding a little.

"Doe," he said aloud.

Seeing nothing more he could do here, he went back toward his Mother's thicket. It was day, but he smelled or heard no one near him. Besides, the last thing he wanted to do now was sleep. He was too angry and excited. He needed time to calm down.

It was just after dark when he came to his Mother's thicket. She was still there with the fawns along with Father. Both smiled openly at his return.

"Man is in the forest," he said. "I saw Man and his dogs kill a bear over by the lake near Grandfather's cave."

"We all heard the sound of the killing stick," his Father said. "So there were not after us. Man will often hunt larger animal like bears before the time they hunt us." His Father then looked at him. "Who cut you?" he asked

"And where is your sister?" his Mother asked.

He swallowed hard. There was nothing else to do except tell them the whole story. "Gurri ran away. Something bad happened when I was there."

"Go on," He Father said.

He explained what happened from the moment he first saw Gurri and Wesal by the lake until now. It was hard, but he told them as best he could. When he finished, his Mother looked sadden and his Father just looked puzzled.

"I do not understand it," Bambi said. "Why would Gurri do that?"

"Because she liked him and now he is dead," his Mother jumped in. "Geno, did you have to kill him?"

"Mother I did not kill him," he protested. "Man killed him. I only chased him when he insulted me. I will not have a puny male treat me like that. As Father and Grandfather taught me, a senior male cannot allow other weaker males to insult him; otherwise, he loses his respect and place within the herd. I will not allow that to happen."

"He is right," his Father said. "The male should not have argued with him. It is regretful he is dead, but these things happen."

"So what are you going to do?" his Mother asked his Father.

His Father started at her for a second looking to understand her real meaning. Then he spoke up strongly. "You mean go after her?" he asked. "No, she is old enough to live on her own. If she does not want to rejoin the herd, that is her decision. If she wants to come back, that is also her decision, but I am not going to look for her. I am also not sending Geno to find her. She will have to live on her own. That is her decision, not ours. She will have to live with it."

His Mother stood straight up stiff as if hit by something. "She is your daughter," she sobbed and led the twin fawns toward the meadow. He watched his Mother walk away thinking of how Gurri left. For the first time, he felt doubt inside about what he had done.

"I suppose I should not have charged him after he spoke badly to me," he said.

His Father looked down at him. "Yes, my son, that was a mistake. Learn from it. Never chase a deer when Man is around. However, you did what I asked you to do. You found out why Man was in the forest. You managed to survive Man's hunting and his dogs. That tells me you have put what I taught you to good use. In the future, I will ask you to other things for me as my Father asked me. I am proud of you, my son."

He beamed on the inside. "What would you like me to do now?" he asked.

"Now I want you to join the yearling herd. Soon they will start sparing with each other as The Season begins to approach. It is time you seek your place among those of your age. Do not spar with the older deer. They are still too strong and powerful for you. In another season, yes you will be able to spar with anyone, but not now. We will also continue our practice together. I will teach you all the tricks my Father taught me."

Inwardly he felt pride that he proved to his Father he was worthy of his attention. Deep inside him, he felt bad about how he had treated his sister.

He could do nothing about it now.

CHAPTER FIVE: CONFLICTS

Bambi followed Faline and the twins back to the meadow. Behind him, Geno walked somberly. It was dark on the meadow when he arrived. He called out to the deer to come over toward him.

"Geno," stand next to me," he told his son.

The deer came over and he spoke calmly. "I have sent my son to see if Man was in the forest. He had found Man is in the forest over by the hills next to the smaller lake. They are hunting bears, but we should still be very careful. These Men have dogs and they will hunt deer. Geno barely escaped both Man and his dogs to return to tell me. With Man nearby we must all be off the meadow before the rise of the great light. If any of you see any sign of Man, come tell me or call out."

"Have you seen Man near here?" Cleon asked.

"No I have not," he answered. "That does not mean he is not around. We must be careful."

Filon stepped forward and spoke up. "Since I found the last Man print, I have kept looking. I have seen nothing near here."

"Thank you, Filon," he said. "It is wise if we all keep looking."

"You do not even belong to this herd," Kragus called out to Filon. "Why should we listen to you?"

Filon smiled before speaking. "I do not care if you listen to me or not. We already had one deer here killed by Man. If you wish to die next Kragus, it matters little to me."

Kragus spun around to face the new deer. "You think you are so big," the senior male growled loudly.

"I am big enough to handle you," Filon said and dropped his head.

He stood back saying nothing. He could do little when males decided to fight. He knew better than to try to stop fights between males. His Father had taught him it is best to let males fight it out. As long as the males did not threaten him or his position as herd leader, or harm the herd, he did not care. Fighting among males is normal in any herd. He looked over to Geno who looked fascinated at what was happening.

"Watch, my son, and learn," he muttered.

His son just nodded.

Kragus put his head down. Both males had their racks still in velvet so they could not use them as if it was The Season. Both males charged. There was a large crunch as they hit each other. Both males tried to get low to get position on the other. Then they could lift and push the other out-of-the-way. They could also drive the other's face into the ground. Both Kragus and Filon locked at the shoulder, neither one getting an advantage. Kragus was a strong deer, he knew that from fighting him for Feline, but Kragus' idea of a fight is just to use strength to win, to overpower his opponent. His father had taught him to use movement, feints, and even kicks to get position to win.

He did notice one thing. While Kragus was trying with all his might to move Filon, Filon was not using all his might on Kragus. He could see Filon was holding back. He was gauging the strength of his opponent. The same thing his Father had told him. That was smart, but it might allow Kragus the opportunity of getting position on him.

Both males pushed hard with their rear legs looking to break the lock. This went on for some time with both males locked in place. Then Kragus shifted his weight to better adjust his stance. That was what Filon was waiting for. The moment Kragus shifted his weight to his rear legs. Filon put all his might into a push and upset Kragus' balance. Filon got down under Kragus, and using his huge neck and chest muscles, lifted the male up. A great push from his rear legs and Kragus went over flying on to his back and fell heavily to the ground. Filon then lowered his head and charged into the exposed flank of Kragus. There was another large crash with Filon knocking Kragus over several times. That ended the fight. Filon pulled back to stand over his fallen victim.

"Like I said, Kragus," Filon spat out. "I do not care if you listen to me or not, but the next time you come at me, I will beat you to a pulp."

Filon turned his back and walked away from the down deer. He thought that was foolish until he saw Filon turning his head slightly to look behind him. Kragus got to his feet slowly and looked at the deer that beat him. Filon was casually walking away as if beating Kragus was nothing. He saw Kragus' rage rise up. He put his head down and charged the unprotected rear of Filon. Before he could shout a warning, Filon kicked out hard with both rear legs hitting Kragus squarely in the face. There was a loud cracking sound. Kragus looked stunned. Filon then turned around and hit Kragus hard in the flank again before he could recover. The blow knocked the big male senseless to the ground.

"Attack me from the rear," Filon shouted. "I should. . ." and then the deep voice trailed off. All could see Kragus was not moving.

Filon looked up at him. He ran over to look at the down deer. He poked him a few times. He felt for any sign of life from inside the big male. There were none. He stood up slowly.

"Kragus is gone," he announced to the herd.

Geno ran over and looked at the big deer. "Father, look," he said pointing his nose at Kragus' head. "Kragus is bleeding out of the eyes and ears. I see no life in him."

The deer standing around were stunned. Deer often fought, but there were seldom deaths with these fights. As soon as one deer proved stronger, the fight was over. The most stunned was Filon who looked in shock.

"I...I...I did not mean to kill him," Filon said in bewilderment.

Many deer were looking at the prone figure of Kragus. The other deer were looking at him. Suddenly he realized he had to say something. This was his decision to make. As herd leader, any hesitation would be seen as a sign of weakness by the others. He stood back and called out. He knew what was right here.

"The fight was fair," he said. "Filon beat Kragus. He was walking away. Kragus would not accept defeat and attacked Filon from the rear when he thought he was not looking. Only then did Filon lash out to protect himself. This is the fault of Kragus and not Filon," he said.

Most of the other deer just nodded approval. Only a few like Ronno seemed to disagree but kept their mouths shut. He looked down at Kragus. There was a dead fresh deer lying in the meadow. It would not go unnoticed for long. Soon others would come to feed on the body. They might also feed on any other deer they found regardless if they were alive or dead.

"Everyone should eat quickly," he told the herd. "Others will be here soon to eat the body. They may also look to eat other deer that are nearby."

With that, all the other deer went back to feeding themselves leaving Kragus to lie in the meadow by himself. Kragas was not popular and he did not think there would be any complaints about his death. He, Faline, and Geno ate and then they all drank by the stream. It was only later when they were back near Faline's thicket did they talk.

"I did not know you could kill a deer by fighting," Geno said.

"Yes, you can especially when you kick out like Filon did," he answered.

"Kragus," Faline said. "I have known him since we were fawns ourselves. I remember how you beat him for me. Now he is gone like the others."

"Kragus was always a troublemaker," he reminded his mate. "He and Ronno never accepted me as herd leader. I am just glad it was Filon who did this and not me."

He then looked at down his own son. "Come, Geno, I need to teach you more about fighting. You may soon need it."

He led his son away from Faline and the fawns. Doe did not like fighting, but it was part of the herd. He had his son push as hard as he could against him. Geno was strong, but not as strong as he was. It was like how his Father taught him. He could push as hard as he wanted against his Father, but he would always change position or push him off-balance to win. It was not until the summer after Geno and Gurri were born that he was strong enough to move his father. He was still learning tricks from him when he died.

He had his son push and push until he could tell he was exhausted. Still, he made him fight on. A deer had to learn to fight when tired; learn to fight even when exhausted. The more he exhausted his son became, the stronger he would get. Geno might be strong now, but he needed to get stronger. In one or two seasons, he would have no problem in becoming a senior male. He did like one thing. His son never asked to stop. He kept coming.

It was near light when they stopped. "You are doing fine," he told his son. "I do not think there is a yearling male who can beat you, but the older deer are still too strong for you."

"Thank you, Father," he said.

"There is one other thing," he added. "When you spar with the yearling males, do not show them the tricks your Grandfather and I showed you. Those you only use when it is a real fight. Otherwise, they may learn your tricks and use them against you. Instead, just use your strength to gain position."

Geno nodded his head. "I see, Father, I will not. Then he stopped. "Before we go back to Mother let me ask you something."

"Yes," he said.

"I still feel partly responsible for what happened to Gurri," he said in a hushed tone. "I could go look for her."

"No, not now," he said. "After The Season and after Man leaves there is a time when it is peaceful. This will last until the first snow comes and it gets hard to find food. That is when we will both go look for her. The fawns will also be old enough then to leave them with your mother."

"I understand, Father," Geno said calmly. "I just wanted to help Mother. I know she worries about Gurri."

It pleased him that his son cared enough to ask. "That is good of you, my son, but there are other more important things to do now."

As it was, it was days before they went back to the meadow. The smell from Kragus' body and the work of the scavengers made it unpleasant to be there. By the time they did go back, Kragus was just a scattered pile of bones lying on the grass.

His son took up with the yearling males. He watched his son play with the young males. In their sparing, he could see his son was stronger than all of them. The few might could match him in strength had a hard time fighting with him because like him, he was quick. This was how deer found their place in the herd. He knew once his son had established his place with these males, it would not change for the rest of his life. Most yearlings hung around him both because he was the son of the herd leader. They also wanted to hear about his adventures.

Filon stayed by himself. He was never that friendly, to begin with, but after the fight with Kragus, he became even more remote. He would eat by himself and seldom talked to anyone. The senior and herd males mostly ignored him both because of his oddness, and because out of fear, Ronno especially. Even the doe looked upon the big male with suspicion. Ronno was just about as isolated. He had only a few friends in the herd and Kragus was his best friend. Now he was gone, Ronno was alone. He caught Ronno glaring at Filon on several occasions. The big deer would have to fight this battle on his own. One evening he just went over to Filon to speak with him.

"You can rejoin the herd," he reminded him. "No one holds you responsible for Kragus' death,"

"Tell that to Ronno," Filon told him. "Every time I come to the meadow he looks at me like I tried to kill him."

"Ignore him," he told Filon. "He hates me much more than he hates you."

"I wish I could believe that," Filon went on.

"Father," he heard from behind him. "Look behind you to your right."

He turned to see past his son who was looking at five deer walking toward them led by Ronno. The others were herd males, not senior males. The rest of the herd males along with Celon and the other two senior males Atlan and Delno looked at them from the herd. All five stopped about five lengths away.

"Bambi," Ronno called out. "We want you to chase Filon away from the herd. We no longer want him here."

That took him by surprise. No one had ever asked him to do that before. "Why do you want me to do this?" he asked studying the males carefully.

"He killed Kragus," Ronno bellowed. "He does not belong here. He offends me."

He smiled shaking his head no. "I have already said that Kragus' death was Kragus' fault, not Filon's. If you do not want Filon here, you chase him out. He has done nothing that would make me chase him away."

Ronno flashed rage and he went stiff. "Do not think we will forget this, Bambi," Ronno glared and walked away with the other deer.

As soon as they were far enough away for them not to hear, Filon came up to him. "Thank you," Filon said, "But maybe he is right and I should go."

"That is up to you," he said. "But, you have done nothing wrong as I see it."

"At least the rest of the herd seemed not to care," Filon said and walked away.

A cool icy feeling came over the meadow. There was now a split within the herd he had to worry about. One good thing, most of the herd and the other senior males seem not to care about this one way or the other. If they all came over and complained, then he have to do something. While none of the other herd males or even the senior males were his enemies, neither were any of them his friends. They followed him because they were not smart enough or strong enough to lead. They would follow anyone who was smart and strong. This he would have to watch.

Over the next few days, nothing happened. He noticed Ronno and a few of the herd males were not on the meadow at night. He did not mind that, but there was tenseness in the air. He continued his search for Man. He had Geno take him over to his Father's cave. Geno had told him a bear had chased Gurri away from it. Both of them searched the area and he found no trace of a bear except for some lingering scent in an old waste pile and in his Father's old cave. It must have been the bear Man had killed. He wondered if it was the same bear his Father used to kill and eat him. He did not know. The cave was empty again and he could use it over the winter. It was a good place to get out of the cold wind.

Geno pointed out where he had seen the bear die and where he and his sister hid. He could see it hurt him when he showed him where Man and his dog killed Wesal. From the look on Geno's face, he could still tell what happened here was hurting him. He had hoped to find Gurri still there, but she was not. Not even a trace of her scent could he find.

His new daughters were growing nicely. They showed no sign of sickness or weakness. He did not think they have trouble getting through the winter if they put on more weight. Both were still more interested in their Mother than him. They were not like Gurri who insisted on coming with him on his walks with Geno. They were more like normal doe fawns. He did not know if that was good or bad, but that is the way it was and he knew he could not change it.

It was the next day when he, Faline and Geno went to the meadow after dark. As expected the herd was there feeding. As he walked on the meadow, he saw Ronno and the four other males turn their backs and walk away toward the far end of the open field. Other herd members were backing away. He caught a sense of tension in the air. The herd looked nervous. He smelled no scent of danger; heard nothing that would warn of alarm. He could sense something was wrong here.

"We will eat near the edge of the meadow," he told Faline and Geno."

"Is there something wrong, Bambi?" Faline asked in her smooth voice.

"I am not sure, but there is something going on," he said.

He bent over and started eating when he saw Filon come up slowly, seeming to hesitate. He looked over his shoulder as he approached. He was on guard. The big male walked up and whispered.

"Something is wrong, Bambi," he said. "When I came on the meadow all the deer moved away from me. Some of them looked afraid of me. I am used to them ignoring me, but they have never shown fear of me before."

"Ronno is stirring up trouble," he said. "Have any of them approached you?"

"No," Filon said. "They have gone out of their way to ignore me."

He saw Ronno and the other four males talking and then as a group, they all turned and walked toward him. He continued to eat not wanting them to know they had drawn his attention. The all got within a few lengths of him. The he stopped. He noticed two of the deer stood to his flank, while Ronno and the other two stood in front of him.

"We want to talk to you," Ronno said as if he was in charge.

"So," he said keeping an eye on the others.

"We want Filon gone," Ronno shouted. "We want you to chase him out now. If you do not, then we want a new herd leader."

"I said before, Filon has done nothing to deserve me doing that."

"He killed my friend Kragus, and he must pay for this," Ronno said bitterly. "If you do not throw him out, we will find a new herd leader.

By now, Geno was standing close enough to hear. He saw the face turn from curiosity to pure anger. He was getting mad. This was a direct challenge to his leadership. Ronno knew this.

"If you want to be herd leader, Ronno, here I am," he said and lowered his head.

To his surprise, Ronno lowered his head to accept. He leaped forward at Ronno who leaped forward at him. They hit hard in the meadow. It was like hitting a tree at full speed. He locked his head with the big deer at the shoulder. Ronno dropped his head and tried to pin him against the ground. He shifted his weight and pushed hard with his rear legs. The force pushed Ronno back breaking the lock. Ronno dropped his head and started again at him. He hit him and then started to push him hard. As he did, he locked his head with his.

"Now," Ronno cried out.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the males to his side lower his head and start to charge his exposed flank. With Ronno holding on to him, he could not turn to defend that attack.

"Die," the other deer called out and came at him in a charge.

There was nothing he could do about it; he was going to be hit hard. They were all going to gang up on him even those such fight are supposed to be with only two deer fighting. He tensed his side. As the charging deer got close to him, a blur of motion came from his back hitting the charging deer in his side.

"You die," he heard Geno shout. His son had charged and the other deer who did not see him. As the attacker came close to his flank, Geno hit him in his own side at full speed with his shoulder. There was a loud impact noise He heard several cracking and popping noises from inside the deer Geno hit. His impact knocked the other deer aside and sent him sprawling on the ground.

"Geno," Faline called out.

Now he understood; this was not a fight to challenge him or remove Filon. They were out to kill him. He got angry and dropped his head hard, driving Ronno's face into the dirt.

"You little runt," the other deer to the side yelled and started to charge Geno from the rear. As he came up behind he saw Geno do something he had never seen before. He kicked out hard with his two rear hoofs. Filon had killed Kragus this way, but Geno was smaller. Instead, he hit the herd male lower in the neck and chest.

"BAAAAAAAAAA!" the other deer screamed.

He threw his full weight into Ronno. This time he held nothing back. As Ronno lifted his face out of the dirt, he got under his head and with all his might pushed. He slid under Ronno and almost lifted the deer off the ground while pushing him back. Ronno flipped over onto his back. The senior male hit the ground with a heavy thud and it stunned him for a moment. Before the big deer could move, he was on him. Normally he would stop fighting now, but not this time. Ronno had proved he do anything to get rid of him. He would never give him another chance. He did something his Father taught him to do if he ever found himself in this kind of fight to the death. He raised himself up in the air and stomped hard on Ronno's side hard.

"DAAAFFFFF," Ronno cried out.

He rose up again and hit him and again, and again, and kept on until Ronno stopped moving. Then he turned quickly to see what else was happening.

The one deer Geno hit in the side was trying to get up. He could not do it. He was no longer a threat. The deer Geno kicked was running off the meadow. He could see the blood trail on the ground. There was a lot of blood. Geno had turned to face the other two deer head down. He could clearly see the young body was full of rage.

"Come on," he son cried out to the others. "You want to try me?"

Felon also had his head down ready to hit them if they moved. The two had wisely decided to stay still. He looked around. No one else was coming. The fight was over. He looked up at the rest of the herd. No one else came near. The rest went on eating as if nothing had happened. What happened here was no concern to them. He walked over to the other two deer. He was not even sure of their names.

"Leave the herd," he ordered. "Go find somewhere else to live. If I ever see, hear, or smell you again, I will kill you myself. Now GO!"

The two herd males turned and ran into the forest as fast as their legs could carry them. In a moment, they were gone. He then looked at the deer still struggling to get up. He knew that deer would be dead soon. He finally went to look at where Geno kicked the other deer. There was a long streak of dark liquid on the grass. Geno's hoofs must have cut that deer open. With that much blood loss, that male was already dead or soon would be. Both Filon and Geno came over. Geno looked at the deer he had hit.

"I am sorry, Father," he said meekly. "I know I should have let you fight them, but they were all going to attack you at once. I will not let them kill you."

"As long as it was just Ronno fighting your Father, that is correct, no one should interfere," Filon said. "When the others attacked, that is not allowed. You were right to help your Father. You have down well, Young Prince. I just wish I could have been of more help, but they surprised me with what they did."

Geno looked down at the long streak of blood and then back at the struggling deer. "I killed the one I kicked and the one on the ground will likely die." It sounded like was going to sob.

Yes," he told his son.

"Then I am a killer again," he muttered. "Maybe Gurri was right. Maybe I am a monster."

"No," he said sternly. "What happened to Wesal was unfortunate and yes that might have been a mistake to chase him, but you did not kill him. Here, these deer would have killed me, and then you, your sisters, and your mother. Do not forget I have killed too," he said and pointed to Ronno's still body. "Your Grandfather also killed when it was necessary. You helped me defend the herd, as any herd leader will do. You are my son and I am proud of you."

Geno nodded his head with his budding rack now bleeding in some places. "Thank you, Father, but it is only because of what you taught me that I could do this." He then looked up at Filon. "I also learned from you."

"I saw that," the large deer said with a grin. "And you have learned well. I also think you will not have to go back to the yearling herd again. You have proven your place in this herd. I think by the end of next season, you will be a senior male, assuming we all live that long."

"I suppose so, but I do not feel well, excuse me," he said and slowly walked off the field.

His Mother came up to comfort him but he shook his head. "I want to be alone for a while," he said and walked away.

"One thing for sure," Filon said. "He will have no problems getting a doe this season. After seeing what happened here, no yearling or even a herd male will want to challenge Geno."

"That is correct," he said looking at the death around him. "He had to learn this lesson. I just wish he could have learned it later."

"I am sorry I put you and your family through so much trouble," Filon said lowering his head. "I will leave the forest if you want me to. You do not have to chase me out."

"No, you were not the cause of all this," he said. "You were just the excuse the others used. I rather you stay; I will need more senior males. As you can see, I can depend on none of those," he said and pointed his nose at the herd still standing far away.

"Thank you," Filon said with a bow of his head.

He looked around the field. "We should leave before the scavengers come to clean up this mess. They are the only ones that won this fight."

"Yes, herd leader," Filon said and walked away.

He called for the others to leave the meadow. With that done, he walked off the field and back with Faline and her fawns.

No one said anything on the way back. 

CHAPTER SIX: WANDERING

Gurri kept running until it was close to dawn. In her mind was the glaring image of Wesal being hit by Man's killing stick and then torn to pieces by the dog. It revolted her as nothing had ever done in her life. She still felt sick to her stomach. After seeing what her brother had done, she wanted nothing to do with Geno or her family. It was bad enough that they treated her like an empty-headed doe; they had to destroy what little happiness she could find. That was too hard to bear. She had to get away. She had to get far away.

She knew the forest was vast and her herd only lived in part of it. Once away from the two lakes, the hills, and the large open meadow, she was in a part of the forest she did not know. She was still thinking well enough to realize that meant unknown dangers. It was well past dawn when she finally stopped. The trees were fewer and the ground more open here. The ground was also rockier. From her stomach, she felt a growling so despite her sickness, she satisfied her hungry by eating leaves from the bushes that grew in between the trees. There were also patches of grass she found growing in the open places between the tall pine and oak trees. She tried to rest during the day, but she could not. Every time she closed her eyes, the horrifying image of Wesal being killed flooding into her mind. Seeing that it was useless to try and rest, she kept on moving deeper into the unknown forest despite the dangers. She moved on until she felt exhausted.

During her walk she saw birds, squirrels, rabbits, ferrets, raccoons and other familiar animals of the forest. It was just the same as in her part of the forest. She did not pick up any scents of bears, badgers, or coyotes, but she smelled a few foxes. She was now too big for them to easily feast on her. The great light was directly above her when she finally felt exhausted enough where she had to stop. She found a hidden spot and lay down. Finally, her head was too tired to fill her with images of Wesal dying in front of her. She finally was able to relax and fell instantly asleep.

It was well into the night when she awoke refreshed. She stood up and took in a great quantity of air through her nose. There was nothing to alert her of any danger, but she did smell something familiar. There were the scents of other deer on the wind. They were upwind of her. That meant they would not smell her coming. She got up and quietly moved toward the scent trail. There were several deer, but the scents were not like in her Father's herd. There, all the scents mixed into a huge herd scent. This herd was smaller, and she could pick out at least four or five individual scents. There were males and doe there. She walked on looking carefully as she went. There were dangers with meeting any strange herd. Sometimes other herds were not friendly to strangers her Grandfather told her.

It was easy to follow her nose toward the increasing smell until she saw the trees part in front of her. There, in a small clearing, not much bigger than the one outside her Mother's thicket, stood six deer. There were two males and four doe. She looked them over. One male was larger, maybe a season older than she was. There was a smaller male next to him about Geno's age. The smaller male was of average built, but the older one had heavier muscles. Already he was sporting a growing rack that would of decent size by The Season. The bigger male could be a senior male in the herd, but the smaller one looked like a normal herd male.

The four doe were all yearlings. She could see two were twin sisters. Both were of them were of normal build. They looked like herd doe. The other two were the same only not sisters. She was bigger than all four of them. She was wondering where the rest of their herd was. It was a small herd and she was surprised there were no others nearby. They were not very alert. Even with the wind, they should have smelled her or heard her approach. She coughed once loudly to draw their attention to her and walked into the opening.

The entire herd turned toward her. The doe looked ready to flee. The two male were nervous.

"Greetings," she called out. "I am Gurri and I am a stranger to your forest."

All six of them looked at her in surprise. They were lucky she was not a bear or mountain lion, or she would be eating one of them now.

The bigger male was the first to recover at her sudden entrance. "I am Kelo," he said. "Where did you come from?"

"From the lake and hills far away," she said. "May I ask who the rest of you are?"

"The other male is Rongi," the bigger male went on. "The two sisters are Flnar and Monar and the other two are Wenna and Stera. We are all a herd."

"I saw the herd was small," she said. "Where are the others?"

"They are all gone. Between Man and his killing sticks and the bad winter, we are all that is left," Kelo explained.

It must have been bad here if the six of them are the only ones left out of a herd, but all she knew was a herd the size of her Father's.

"Are you alone?" Rongi asked. "Where is your herd?"

"I left my herd," she told them. "I was tired of being treated like a know-nothing doe and having males decide my life for me. I came here looking for others."

"You went out on your own," Kelo repeated. "That is strange for a doe."

"Well it is not strange for me," she said. "I go where I want and when I want."

The others still looked at her in shock. She did not think she was that different. Maybe she was. "Do you mind if I eat some of the grass? I am hungry," she asked politely.

"No we don't mind," Kelo said.

She walked fully into the open and they saw her fully for the first time. "You are big for a yearling doe," Rongi said.

"All in my family are big," she answered and then bent over to start eating.

She ate with them staring at her. Soon Rongi started to come over sniffing the air. He came up behind her to get a sniff at her tail. She waited until he was close and then kicked out lightly with her rear legs. Her hoofs hit the male in the chest, but not hard enough to hurt him. The male jumped back. She spun around quickly.

"I am here for the grass and nothing else," she told him bluntly. "Besides, The Season is still a ways away."

She went back to eating in peace. It was only after she had finished that Kelo came over to her. "Rongi did not mean anything when he sniffed at you," he said.

She looked up at the older male who was about a head taller than she was. "When I want the attentions of a male, I will ask for them," she told him. "What he did was rude."

That looked to put everyone off. The others finished eating and moved on into the forest. She followed the six of them until they came to a small stream where they drank. The water was cold and had a better taste than the water from the lake. She liked it. The others then left without a word. All six moved into the deeper forest. There was no invitation for her to join them so she stayed behind. She looked and found a dry spot on a small hill near the stream. Seeing no one around, she lay down and started chewing her cud. For now, this was not a bad place. No one knew her. She decided to stay here. She slept alone in the dark listening to the noises of the forest around her. She smelled nothing around her except the faint odor of a badger. In the morning, she wandered around and found a badger's old den near her, but it was empty and not used for a while. There were no signs of bears or mountain lions around. It looked safe, but she still kept searching and looking for danger like she was taught.

Her new home was not bad, but she missed other deer to talk to. The small herd here tolerated her presence but did nothing to make her feel welcomed. When she met them in the forest, they did not speak to her, but they did not try to chase her out. There was plenty of grass for everyone so there was no need to fight over that. Over a period of a few days, she got to know her surroundings well. She convinced herself there were no dangers. She also was starting to get over what happened to Wesal. She could not forgive Geno for what he had done. It was not necessary for him to attack a deer that could not have possibly hurt him. This thing with males treating lesser males with disdain or contempt was silly to her. She did not think her Father would have done that.

She had been there for many risings of the greater light when near dark she heard many yelping noises in the distance. At first, she thought they were dogs, but after listening to them, she realized it was a pack of coyotes. One thing for sure, the yelping was getting louder. Her Father had told her a single Coyote was not a threat, but a pack could run down a deer and kill it like a pack of dogs could. She called out a warning to the others nearby and started moving quickly away from the howling. If she moved with the wind blowing at her back so she could smell them and they could not smell her. It also meant she was moving through a part of the forest she knew, if only briefly. If she moved crosswind, it would take her into places in the forest she did not know about. Grandfather had told her never let anyone chase you into places you do not know. You would be at a disadvantage. Moving upwind would only take her scent and blow it toward the coyotes. It was also the direction the yelping noise was coming from. There left her only one choice, to go back the way she came. Although she moved quickly, she did not run. Running would tire herself out. Instead, she moved away from the sound as quietly as she could. The wind was still blowing from her back, so it would not carry her scent far behind her. Every so often, she would stop and again call out a warning to anyone around her. She moved on and started to notice the yelping getting more distance.

She kept moving quickly until she was sure she could hear nothing behind her. By now, she had come back most of the way toward the smaller lake and the hills she had live in before with Wesal. There was still no danger she could smell or hear, so she decided to stop and rest. She lay down on some leaves and listened carefully. For a while, she heard nothing, and then the nearby bushes started to move in the distance. It was too quiet for coyotes. A familiar scent came to her nose. Through the bushes fled a large deer. It was Kelo. He looked tired and he was alone. She got up and called to him. He ran over, looking exhausted.

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"I do not know," he gasped. "The coyotes were chasing some of us. I thought I heard someone scream, but I do not who. We all scattered. I heard you call twice so I ran toward you."

"Well can rest here," she told him. "I cannot hear or smell any sign of danger. We can wait until tomorrow for the others to come."

"We can wait here a while. It seems a nice place," Kelo said looking around.

"No, there is no water nearby," she said. "There is a lake over there," she pointed with her nose. "We can wait until morning and then we have to go to the lake."

"But the others," Kelo said.

"There is no telling where they went or if they are even alive," she said.

"We can go back after them," Kelo said.

"Go back toward a pack of coyotes," she said quickly getting up. "You are asking to die. A pack can kill any deer they smell. They did not smell you or me and that is why they did not chase us. I am not going back so they can find us again and maybe kill us this time. You can do as you please. I will leave for the lake in the morning. Believe me; if there was another way, I would do it."

She lay down again in the leaves. Kelo lay down several lengths from her on some leaves. She could not believe that fool wanted to go back and maybe run into to those coyotes again. Did his mother teach him nothing? Her Father would never do that. She knew if everyone in that small herd had all run away together from the yelping sounds when they first heard them, they might have all gotten away. One thing for sure, with a pack of those scavengers around, that part of the forest was no longer safe for any deer. She just kept quiet, listened, and waited.

She was still waiting when the greater light came up the next day. No one else had come. She got up, tested the air and started to walk back toward the lake. Kelo did not get up with her and instead stayed still. "You can stay if you want," she said. "If you want to come later, I will leave a scent trail for you to follow. It is not far to the lake."

"I will not leave the others," Kelo said.

"Fine," she told him, "Goodbye. I hope to see you again."

With that, she left the male still lying on the ground and went back toward the lake. As she traveled in the forest, she would empty herself from time to time to leave her scent on the ground. The others should easily be able to follow her.

The great light was now high overhead before she got to the lake. She stood inside the trees and waited. The wind was now blowing in her face, so she was sure there was nothing in front of her. She could not tell if there were any dangers near the hills. She did not see any smoke. She slowly walked around the lake until she came to the small stream that came from this lake and went to the larger lake. She stopped to drink. The meadow was nearby, but she was as interested in seeing her Father's herd again as she was to see those coyotes. After dark, she would go back to the trees she stayed in before. She remembered Man had been in this part of the forest. There was no sound of smell of Man. She did not think he was still here. Still, traveling during the day was as foolish as going back to run into that coyote pack. The only thing that bothered her was the memory of Wesal being killed near here.

It was late in the day, almost dark, when she heard movement behind her. The footsteps were light, but not as silent as either she or her brother was. She turned and saw Kelo moving with his nose close to the ground following her scent. He was still alone. She let out a cough that got his attention. He came over to lay down a few lengths from her.

"No one came," he said in a sad voice.

"After dark, I will show you a good place to find food. Until then, it is not wise to walk around in the open during the day. Man may still be nearby so we stay still when it is light."

The big deer looked nervously around him. "I am more frightened of Man than any pack of coyotes. At least they have to catch you to kill you. Man kills you even if you are far away."

"That is why we wait until dark," she said and closed her eyes. This male was either not bright or had not been taught as she and her brother had.

Once darkness fell, she led Kelo around to the other side of the lake where the grass was better and the trees grew thicker and were easier to hide in. They got there while it was still dark so they ate in the open area and then drank in the lake. After she finished, she moved away from her bedding area and emptied herself. It was easy to find a spot to rest near where she and Weasel had been before.

"You can sleep where you like," she told Kelo.

"Can I sleep near you," he asked with a slight smile.

"Not next to me," she told him flatly. "I told you before I am not looking for a male. You want to sleep anywhere else, it is fine with me."

Kelo got the message and slept several lengths away from her. The last thing she thought before she drifted off to sleep was despite her wish to get away from her Father, brother, and the herd, she was right back where she started. Somehow, that did not seem fair to her, but that is how things happen.

The day passed quietly with no noises from any danger. After dark, she left for the open area near the lake to eat the grass that grew there. Kelo followed her and did as she did. She did notice that often Kelo would stand downwind of her and sniff the air but did not approach her. Finally, she just stopped eating and asked.

"Is my scent so unusual you need to sniff it?" she asked.

Kelo took a step back shocked at her forwardness. "Ah Ah, no," he said with surprise. "You have a very pleasant scent. Rongi told me that is why he got close to you because your scent is so wonderful to sniff."

"Oh," she said with some embarrassment "Thank you, it comes from my mother. She has a very pleasant scent also. I do not mind if you smell me from a distance, but not like Rongi did."

"You also look beautiful," the male said.

She knew that from the attention she got on the meadow when males, especially younger males, showed an interest in her. The depth of their interest she knew very well. Most males would like to breed her in The Season, only she was never interested in any of them. Also, she never considered herself nice looking, although her Mother was a real beauty. All the deer said that.

"Thank you," she said again feeling slightly embarrassed. She also could see Kelo was not paying much attention to anything else. Something her Father would never do. "Now instead of looking at me, you should instead be looking for danger," she went on. "I will not kill and eat you, others will."

It bothered her that while this male was a season older than she was, it was her teaching him. Did his mother ever teach him anything? Did his herd never show him anything? It seemed strange to her. Her Mother taught her as soon as she was old enough to understand. Then both her Father and Grandfather taught her. Maybe what she learned was more than other fawns learn. It would certainly explain some of their actions. Males did not think with their heads at times, except for her Father and Geno. Most of the others were too interested in doe they could breed. At least here there was someone to talk too and he did not treat her like an empty-headed doe. She could take comfort in that.

This went on for several nights. No one bothered them. By now, she knew they were into the long days of summer. One night when she was eating, she heard a sound off toward her Mother's thicket. She turned and saw two herd males moving quickly toward the lake. They were moving nervously as if being chased by something. She barked a warning to Kelo and raised her tail. Both males stopped by the edge of the lake to drink, and then they looked up and saw her. After a moment's hesitation, they started toward her. She stood her ground and Kelo came up close to her. Both males had normal size racks. Kelo's rack was larger and he was bigger. She recognized them from her Father's herd but did not recall their names. They came up to her. When they got closer, she saw they looked angry.

"You," one called out. "You are Bambi's daughter," he spat out.

She went into a guard position. "My name is Gurri," she told him coldly.

"Your father killed our friend Ronno," the other told her, eyes blazing. "Your brother killed Enos and badly hurt Malon."

"My brother killed a herd male," she said. "I find that hard to believe. What did you do to deserve this?"

"We want your Father gone. He should not be herd leader," the first one yelled at her. "We cannot beat them, so instead we will beat you!"

The first one lowered his head and charged her. She saw it coming and leaped back, but he still grazed her with his budding rack along her side. It hurt her. The first deer ran by her. The other started to lower his head. That she was ready for. As he put his head down, she raised up with both her front legs kicking him in the face as her Grandfather taught her. She kicked hard and felt her hoofs tear into his flesh.

"BUAAAAHHH," the second one cried out. His head shot up revealing cuts along his mouth and on the side of his head. His face was bleeding. By now the second one had stopped and turned around and was facing her rear.

"I will kill you for this," he shouted and started to charge when he stopped suddenly. Kelo had his head down and charged the first male, who barely had time to turn and face him. Kelo had managed to take three leaps before he ran into the male. His speed was increasing when he hit the male hard in the head.

There was a large impact and the first male got pushed back. Kelo still charging was on him in a moment before he could recover. He took his head and pushed down on the other male while pushing down hard with his neck. That drove the other male's head into the dirt. Now he had position over the male, Kelo drove his face deep into the ground. Kelo then charged almost running the first male over.

Meanwhile, the male in front of her tried to raise his head, but his face was a bloody mess. She took advantage and kicked out again with her front hoofs into the chest of the herd male.

"DAAAAAA" he screamed again as she cut into him there also. That was all for him. He turned and ran trailing blood toward the end of the lake and the hills.

She turned and watched the first male running off the way he came, beaten. Kelo was chasing him. Only then did she feel the pain in her side from the impact.

She bent over trying to breathe. Every time she took a breath, pain ran along her side. The pain in her left side was bad, but she did not think she was hurt badly. She looked at her left side; two long cuts in her fur were bleeding, but not badly. She tried to move and found she could walk, but she was stiff and getting stiffer. If she lay down, she knew she would not get up and she was in the open. She moved slowly into the trees until no one could see her. Then she found a soft patch of grass and lay down. That was all for her, she felt ready to collapse.

A short while later Kelo returned with a huge smile on his face. "That one will not come back any time soon," he boasted. Then he looked down at her. "Are you alright?" he asked seeing her side.

"He cut me along my side," she told him. "I am hurt, but not seriously. I need to rest for a while."

"Of course, I am sorry he hurt you," Kelo told her. "You did cut that other male badly," Kelo told her. "He was bleeding from his chest and face and it was a lot worse than you. What was that all about?"

I am not sure," she labored. "It was something about my Father and brother. Would you mind if we talked later, I need to rest?"

"Of course," he said and lay down a few lengths from her.

She closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

When she woke up it was late in the day. The pain in her side was still there and just as bad. She got up and found she was stiff. Each time she took a step her left side throbbed. She forced herself to move about. It helped ease the stiffness. By the time it was dark, she was able to move easier. The pain was also a little less. She moved slowly into the open and started to eat. Kelo was always nearby watching her. She wondered why. There was the obvious reason, he looked at her as a doe he could breed during The Season, but she caught him from time to time smiling at her. Could it be he liked her? She did not have any strong feelings for him, but at least he seemed to care about her. That was more than she had with any of the other males outside of her family, other than Wesal.

Once she finished eating, she drank from the lake. The water tasted blander than the stream water, but it did refresh her. After that, she walked around some more still trying to loosen up her body. Later when she rested close to morning, Kelo lay down near. She looked over and smiled at the male.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked. "You do not have to answer if you do not want to.

"What is the question?" he came back.

"Do you like me," she asked outright.

"Yes," he said simply.

"Why," she wanted to know.

The male seemed surprised for a moment about why she asked him this. Then he spoke up in a voice that hesitated slightly. "Well you are pretty, you have a wonderful scent, you are smart, and you fight like no doe I have ever seen. You are different from any doe I have known before."

"I know I am different," she said. "That is because my Father and Grandfather taught me things most doe do not learn. You see my Father is the leader of the herd near her. My Grandfather was the Great Prince of the Forest, the wisest deer that ever was. They all taught me the ways of the forest and showed me how to think. Most males I know only look at me as a doe: something to breed in The Season and very little else. I want more than that. I want a male to feel for me. I want a male I can feel for as my Mother feels for my Father. Most males cannot do that. After they breed a deer, they want nothing to do with them. That is why I am unusual and most males shun me."

"That sounds nice," Kelo said. "I never really felt for a doe before. They were not interested in me. Last season I bred one and afterward, she wanted nothing to do with me. I do not even know if she is alive or dead with my fawn."

"So do you feel for me?" she asked.

"I think so. I certainly feel more for you than that doe I mated with last season."

That was as much as she was likely to get. "Very well, then you can come over and sleep next to me," she told him with a smile.

Kelo eagerly complied.

CHAPTER SEVEN: PARTNERS

It was tense on the meadow.

Bambi stood at the edge of the open field and watched the other deer of his herd. Before his fight with Ronno, the deer were talking to each other, running around playing, males sparred with each other, and the deer mixed easily. Now the deer ate quietly, only the fawns were playing, and. hardly any sparring went on. The deer stayed quietly in their place as if afraid of something. Mostly, the place they stayed in was as far away on other side of the meadow from him and his family as possible. He wondered what the problem was until he saw a doe and this year's fawn come out on the meadow near him. She looked at him standing there and she immediately went quickly to the other side of the meadow calling her fawn after her. She was afraid of him. He then realized they were all afraid of him and his son. That made him feel sick to think his herd feared him.

It had been a few days before the herd went back to the meadow after the fight. It took that long for the scavengers to finish with Ronno. There were also two other groups of vultures and other carrion eaters circling in the forest near the meadow, no doubt taking care of the two deer Geno had fought. As the days went on, he saw the difference. Before, the other deer looked at him with respect, as they did with his dead Father. Now they looked at him with fear. This was not how he wanted to lead the herd.

Poor Geno was not doing any better. The yearling males avoided him as if afraid his son would turn on them. After the death of Wesal, and now the killing of two deer here, his son felt bad enough. This was getting to be too much for him. The other deer still respected him and his son, but it was the kind of respect given to someone you feared like a bear, or a fox. Did his herd think that he and his son would attack them? Did they not realize this had only happened because Ronno and the others tried to kill him? Of all the deer, only Filon talked freely with either of them. He needed to do something, but he was not sure what. He only wished his Father were still alive. He would know what to do.

Finally, he gave up and just asked Celon, Atlan, and Delno to talk with him. They hesitantly came over. He asked them what the matter was.

Celon and Atlan remained silent, but Delno spoke out. "You and your son killed three deer. Not only did you kill them, you both killed them easily. Will you do the same to us? Bambi, you and your son scared us like a bear or Man would."

That one of his senior male thought he would do such a thing angered him. Rather than lash out, he took a deep breath and tried to answer as calmly as he could. "My son attacked only when it became obvious that Ronno and the others were not out to challenge me, but to kill me so Ronno could be herd leader. After they killed me, they certainly would have killed Geno, Faline, and my twin daughters. Was I supposed to do nothing about it? If those other deer would have stayed out of the fight, none of this would have happened and they all still be alive."

"I saw that fight," Delno said. "You are right. Ronno was out to kill you after you did not run Filon out. I have known for a while that Ronno hated you and your family. That still does not change the fact you easily killed the three of them and chased the other two off. Your Father never did anything like this and now the deer are scared of you. They are also scared of your son."

He did notice none of the three senior male did not seemed too upset themselves about what almost happened to him and his son. It made him wondered just how much they knew about Ronno's plan before he was attacked.

Atlan finally spoke up. "Bambi this is not like before when Man killed one of us, or the bears or coyotes killed one of us. These are dangers we all know about. They are part of the forest and this has gone on as long as the forest was here. This is not the same. Deer are not used to having deer kill other deer. This has upset many. I have heard many deer say they may just leave the herd and try to find another herd someplace else in the forest."

That shocked him most of all. "I have never forced myself on the herd," he said. "I have only spoken up when I saw some danger or threat to the herd. I only fought now because neither my son nor I had any choice. If I had let Ronno go, he would have attacked my family or me unexpectedly. He would have hurt or maybe killed them. I was not going to let that happen."

"I am not sure about that," Celon said carefully as if afraid of what he was saying. "I hear what you say, but I am not sure I believe it. Ronno was a braggart, a fool, and thought too highly of himself, but I do not think he would have hurt your family once he was beaten badly by you. In any case, it is far too late now to worry about it. 'Things are what they are," as your Father liked to say."

"I remember those words," he muttered, "And you are right. My question is what can I do about it now?"

"Wait and hope things work out," Delno said.

The others remained silent. This was all he was going to get out of his senior males. "Thank you," he said to the others and walked away.

He saw Filon on the meadow and talked to him next. He told him what the other senior males said.

"Bambi, they may be right," Filon said look at the herd standing well away from both of them. "The herd has not been friendly to me since Kragas died. They avoid me also."

"But I never wanted to hurt the herd," he said exasperated. "My Father spent many seasons looking out for them. I wanted to do the same. That is why I constantly look for danger. I do not want my herd to fear me. I just wanted their respect and now I have lost it."

Filon just shook his head. "I know you feel responsible for the herd and that is why you come here every night to look out for them, but your being here is a constant reminder of what happened. Maybe you should leave for a while. It might be a good idea for Geno to go also."

Maybe Filon was right. "Thank you," he said and walked away

He went back to Faline's thicket and looked in on her. She and the two fawns were doing well. Both fawns were big and growing bigger. Both were healthy. He looked around for his son and did not see him.

"He left right after we came back," Faline said. "He is hurting, Bambi, not from the fight, but from what happened and what happened with Gurri. He feels bad about it all and being ignored by the herd does not help."

"I know," he said. "I cannot believe I frightened my own herd."

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"I was thinking," he said tenderly. "The fawns are older now, they can travel. All of us should go away for a while. Maybe to the hills and live in my Father's old cave. If the others do not see us for a while, maybe the herd will relax. It is certainly better than staying here. I walk on the meadow and the herd looks at me like I am a bear on the hunt."

"When do you want to go?" Faline asked in her smooth voice.

"Tomorrow after dark," he answered. "It will take us a whole night to get there."

"I suppose that may work," Faline said. "It sounds better than staying here. Will Geno go?"

"We will all go," he said.

It was late the following night when all of them stood by the edge of the lake. Their journey was slower than he expected. The fawns were still too young to keep up with them, and needed to rest more, but they were here now. They stopped to both eat and drink. Geno took in the air and then went forward. They were mostly in the open, but it was still late night. There was no smell of smoke. He saw Geno looking around when suddenly he stopped and started sniffing at the ground. Bambi saw the white tail come up. His son then ran quickly back.

"Father," he said with excitement. "I am sure I smelled Gurri's scent in the grass. She is also not alone. I smelled another male; a male I do not know."

"Gurri," Faline repeated and started forward with the twins following closely to their mother.

He followed his son into the open area next to the lake and smelled around. At first, there was nothing and then he smelled it. It was faint, but it was her scent. Geno was also right about the other male.

"Gurri," Geno called out.

He would have preferred his son stayed quieter. Others could have heard that call. It was then he saw a male step out from the trees up ahead. He was bigger than Geno, maybe a three season male. They all slowly walked up to the male. He had a strong looking body with heavy muscles and a nice rack growing. He looked strong but was not as big as he was.

"I am Bambi, the herd leader," he said firmly. "I can smell my daughter. I want to know where she is."

"I am Kelo," the male said. "Gurri is resting near here. She was hurt in a fight with two males from your herd. She is getting better but she had a problem moving around freely."

They were all taken back. "Take me to my daughter," he ordered.

Kelo led them back into the trees. There was Gurri lying on some leaves hidden well behind some bushes and trees. As he got closer, she started to get up. He could see she was obviously in pain.

"Lie down, daughter," Faline called out.

"I can stand, it just hurts," she said.

Geno walked up to her and looked at her closely. He sniffed at her left side.

"Who did this to you," Geno said looking angry.

"It is a long story," Gurri said. "Maybe we should all lie down.

Faline lay down with a fawn on either side of her. He lay down next to the fawns and Geno lay down across from Gurri. He noted Kelo lay down next to Gurri, something that also Faline and Geno noticed. Once they were all comfortable, Gurri told them her story of how she traveled into the deeper forest, and then met the other herd and finally, how the coyotes chased them, and both of them ended up here again. Then she told them about the fight with the two males he had chased from the herd. He felt even worse than before because he let those other two male leave. She then told them about how Kelo had chased one off and how she had cut the other one open. It was all too familiar a story. When she finished, Geno asked the one question on his mind.

"Are those two still around here?" Geno asked looking ready to go after them.

"We have not seen them or smelled them since the fight," Kelo said.

"Good," he said. "Daughter I want to look at your injury closely, you do not have to get up."

He got up, walked over and smelled along his daughter's flank. He did not pick up any smell of injury or illness. The wounds were starting to heal. He also felt her head. There was a slight fever.

He stood up and explained. "When I was a little older than Geno, Man struck me with a killing stick, but not badly. My Father showed me leaves that grow near here that helped cure me. I will get some for you. They are bitter to eat, but the will ease the pain and make the healing faster."

"Yes, Father," she said.

"I also thank you, Kelo, for defending my daughter. I am sorry I was partly the cause of this. I never thought those two males would try to hurt you. I do not think they will come back."

"They better not," Geno said.

"Father, what happened and why are you all here?" Gurri asked.

"That is a long story of my own," he said and told Gurri and Kelo the story of Filon, Kragus, Ronno, and the others. He also told her what had happened with the herd. It was not a pleasant story to tell. When he finished, his daughter seemed to relax.

"So that explains it," Gurri said. "Now I know why they wanted to kill me."

He looked up above him. "The great light will come soon. The leaves are near here. Geno and I will get you some. If you do not mind, we will rest here with you today."

"I do not mind," she said not bothering to ask Kelo what he thought.

With that, he got up and motioned Geno to follow him. He went quickly to near the other side of the lake where his Father had shown him what leaves to eat after Man hit him with the killing stick. All the while he kept quiet. Soon he found the plants. They were oily with a bitter scent. He took a branch off and Geno did the same. Both ran back quickly to the other side because he saw the first glow of light in the sky. He had Gurri eat the leaves. They were bitter and made her sleepy. As the great light rose, they all went to sleep.

He did not fall sleep easily. He was glad his daughter was alright, but inside he felt cold. This was another consequence of his fight with Ronno; one he did not expect. It was bad enough his own herd was afraid of him, but to have his daughter suffer because of it was getting to be too much for him. Too many were paying the price for him to be herd leader. He bitterly reproached himself on what had happened. It made him almost want to scream in frustration. His Father never had to go through this. Maybe he was not the deer that should lead the herd, but he also knew there was no one else who seemed interested in protecting the others. Maybe it was time for him to think about doing something else.

That night Gurri felt better so after they all ate, he showed her and Kelo where to find the leaves. Afterwards, he took Geno and left the others there and went into the hills. He climbed the hill on top of which was the old cave of his Father. They found it. They also found a light scent of a bear that had lived there, but it was very weak. From the top of the hill, he could look down at the large open meadow below him that Man sometimes lived in when they come to the forest. Right now, it was empty of Man and quiet, but it would not stay that way for long. The light from the lesser light shined down and in the field, he could see a herd of deer. There were not as many as in his herd, but there were many.

"Do you know that herd, Father?" his son asked.

"I knew it was there from my Father," he said. "I do not know anything about them."

"I think maybe we should meet them," Geno added.

That was a good idea. They would not be of trouble. Maybe they could rest there for awhile. There were other matters to take care of first. "After your sister gets better," he said.

From this place, he could see the whole forest. It was like the hill near where he was born, only higher. Also, this place had not been touched by the fire.

They went back and stayed near his daughter. The others had already eaten. He and Geno ate in the open near the lake before finishing just as the first glow of the greater light appeared.

With the leaves and rest, Gurri was better in three days, but the cuts along her side would leave a scar marring her beauty. However, Kelo did not seem to mind and he accepted the fact that his daughter had most likely found a mate. At least this male was not weak or small. After he was sure Gurri and the fawns could make the journey, he led them by the hill to the cave and through a path at the bottom of the hill. The path showed many signs of use by Man, but He was not present now. They came down a small rise and into the open field. It was night and several deer were still feeding. The herd noticed the presence of so many new deer.

They had started eating when he large a large deer approach. He was slightly bigger and older than he was. The way he walked reminded him of his Father. The large deer approached.

"I am Relnor, herd leader here," he announced.

"I am Bambi, herd leader of those that live on the other side of the hill. I saw the other herd and decided to come over and meet you."

"I have heard of you," the deer said. "Your Father, The Great Prince of the Forest, told me about you. He came here many times, but I have not seen him since last winter."

"My Father is gone," he said.

"I thought so," the big deer said. "This is my herd or what is left of it."

He looked around. There were several doe with growing fawns and some yearling males like Geno. He noticed there were only a few larger males. Not even many herd males. There were also several yearling doe. He could understand how this happened.

"Man has been here," he said as a fact.

"Yes," Relnor said with sadness. "Many of the males died when Man came. Most did not know what to do so they ran into the open."

He felt like asking him why their herd leader did not teach them what to do but decided not to. He had made enough enemies lately. He noted Geno walked into the meadow and drew the attention of a few yearling males. One came up and put his head down in an invitation to spar. Geno did not look interested, but put his head down and let the yearling charge him. The yearling tried to push him back, but between Geno's strength and his teaching, the yearling male could do nothing. A simple shift of Geno's weight to his back legs and a rapid lung forward forced the young male back several lengths. That ended the contest.

"Your son is strong, yet seems reluctant. He is also skilled like your Father was," Relnor told him.

He explained to Relnor what had happened in his herd and what Geno had done. Relnor did not criticize either of them and did not seem afraid of them. Instead, Relnor nodded with a grim understanding.

"It is bad for one so young to have to kill. Still, I can understand why. However, he seems to have drawn the interest of others."

He looked over and saw several of the yearling doe talking to Geno. Some even came up close to sniff him. Geno took it all in stride. If he wanted, he knew his son could have the pick of those doe.

This seemed a nice place to stay until things got better at his herd. "If the herd leader does not mind, I and my family would like to stay for a while?" he asked. "I will have to get back. Soon Man will come and I have to prepare my herd."

"You are welcome here," Relnor said looking happy. "Perhaps I can ask you some questions on how to prepare a herd for Man."

They ate in the meadow. His fawns played with the other fawns in the field running and chasing them around. Over the following days, it became apparent that both Gurri and Geno were different from the deer here. They knew the skills on how to survive with Man and the other threats that the others did not have. That drew the attention of the yearlings and three season deer. It was obvious that with the training both he and his Father had given them, both of his children were looked up to here. They also acted differently than the others: they moved more carefully, walked more quietly, looked for danger more often, especially when in the open. After three days with the new herd, Relnor came up to him.

"I had heard how wise your Father was," Relnor said looking at both Gurri and Geno showing the other deer what they had learned. "I wish he could have trained me like he trained you and your children. Now I am too old and I fear I see no one from my herd to replace me when my time comes."

"Both my children can help you if you wish, especially Gurri. Most males will not listen to a doe, and in the past, this has angered Gurri. She actually left my herd because no one would listen to her. Sadly, that was true even with me. I now see I made a mistake with her. If your males do not mind learning from a doe, she can help you. My son is also smart, but he is still too young to be a senior male. In another season perhaps he will ready, but not now."

"What of the other male with Gurri?" Relnor said.

He smiled, "That is Kelo and he has never been trained. Gurri found him on her travels through the forest. He is learning the same as your deer."

"I will ask my senior males what they think," Relnor told him. "Then we will talk again."

It was like when he was a fawn and yearling himself and following his Father around. Only now, the other deer followed him around and he showed them some of the ways to vanish. The biggest thing he told them was if Man came again, to go deep in the woods and not to go near the big open meadow. Most of the males listed to him and Geno, but there were still problems when it came to learning from Gurri. The yearlings would speak to her, but none of the older males. As one of the herd males, Tino told him: 'Doe are meant to be bred, not to learn from.'

It was two days after later after the great light rose; he heard noise from near the large open meadow. It sounded like Man noises. A little later, Geno ran up to him. He could smell the sweat on his body and two other faint scents of doe. Geno had been spending time close to two doe. He could only smile and realize his son was growing up.

"Father, Man is on the meadow. I saw them, there were many," he said.

"Did you see any dogs?" he asked.

"No, but there were more Men coming so I am not sure," he said.

He looked at Faline and the two fawns. "Take the fawns and go deep into the forest away from the meadow. Man will try to chase us into the meadow where he will kill us."

"I understand," she said and got up. The fawns followed her away from the meadow.

"We need to find Relnor and your sister," he told his son.

"I know where Gurri and Kelo like to sleep," his son said. "I do not know where Relnor is."

"Tell your sister to go deep into the woods. Man must not get behind us and chase us out into the meadow."

"I understand," his son said and ran off.

There was no time to search the forest for the herd leader. The only thing he could do was call out and hope the big deer heard him. He bellowed three times and then started toward the deeper part of the forest himself.

Occasionally he would call out again as he traveled into the deep woods. Finally, he saw the big deer with his three other senior males standing next to some tall oak trees. He ran over to him.

"Man is in the meadow," he told them. "If he is hunting, he will try to drive us into the meadow where Men with killing sticks will be waiting. We need to go deep into the forest so Man does not get behind us to chase us."

"I understand," the herd header said and the let out a bellow of his own. "GO!" he called out. "Go into the forest."

He and the herd leader than ran until they could hear nothing. Then they stopped and listened. It was not long after the greater light rose that they all heard it.

"HEEEEEYYYYYYYY, HEEEEEYYYYYYYY," Man shouted in front of them. Man also banged on something to make a lot of noise.

"They are trying to drive the deer to the open meadow," he said in a low voice.

The yelling when on for a while and then he heard it. "WHAMMM, WHAMMM, WHAMMM, WHAMMM," came in quick succession from the meadow. Man was using his killing sticks on something. Then everything was quiet again.

They waited a while and nothing more happened. He hoped Faline, the fawns, Geno and Gurri were all right, but he was not going to call out again with Man so near. He would wait until night. He spent the rest of the day sleeping with Relnor and his males until it was past dark. Only then did he call out.

First Faline and the two fawns appeared. They were all fine. He nuzzled her gently along with the fawns. Both fawns wanted to play and he allowed them to play with him for a while.

"We hid in the forest. We heard the shouting from Man," Faline told him in her smooth voice. "That danger did not come near us."

A while later Geno appeared with two yearling doe with him. "By the time I got there, both Gurri and Kelo were gone," Geno told him. "I followed their sent for a while and it went into the woods. I found some other deer running around and told them to run into the forest. I think they all did it, but I did not stay to find out. I took my friends here and we went into the forest and hid near some pine trees. No one came near us. We stayed still until I heard your call."

Geno went to lie down and the two doe lay next to him. Faline smiled at him and he had to admit his son had found two nice looking yearlings as his companions. It was only sometime later that Gurri and Kelo showed up. He could tell she looked disgusted.

"As soon as I heard the sound on the meadow I knew it was Man," she told all of them. "I knew what to do so I fled into the forest with Kelo. We came across several deer and I told them to flee. Some of the males did not listen to me, but most did."

"One of the males told her that he did not take orders from a doe," Kelo said. "He told us there was no more danger now than before. We left him and two others."

"You can only warn," he told his daughter loud enough so all could hear. "If they do not want to listen to it, you cannot help them."

He then turned to Relnor. "I think we should stay in the deep forest until we are sure Man is gone," he told him.

"I agree," Relnor said and called his herd together.

In ones and twos, they all slowly showed up. Soon, around them became crowded with deer. When everyone seemed to have gathered Relnor spoke up.

"Man is in the forest. As long as they say in the meadow, Prince Bambi from the other herd thinks we should stay here so Man cannot chase us. I agree with him. Does anyone have any questions?"

There was silence from the herd. Then Relnor spoke again. "Is there anyone missing?"

He did not know the herd and did not know. The other deer milled around for a while before someone called out. "I do not see Tion, Gurion, or Roon."

Relnor looked at him. "Those three males always stay together. I think they were waiting for something to happen to me so they could take over the herd."

"I do not think that will be happening now," he said remembering what Tion had told him.

"Those may have been the deer Gurri tried to warn," Kelo said.

"Maybe they should listen sometimes to a doe," Gurri said. She did not smile, but he could see inwardly she felt no regret at what happened.

"I think maybe we should all listen more to some doe," Relnor said aloud.

"Doe can learn too," Geno spoke up. "Just look at my Mother and Sister," he said. He did not try to hide his grin.

"Geno is also right," Relnor said. "It would be good to know what Gurri and Geno know. Prince Bambi must soon return to his herd; however, I would ask if Geno and Gurri could stay for a while. What they know can help us.

Gurri looked at him. "Father I can stay here for a while. Kelo can stay with me if he wants."

The larger male moved in close to Gurri making it clear to the others of his claim for his daughter. There was no argument.

"If you do not mind, Father, I can stay a while also; at least until winter," his son said. He looked at the two doe next to him. He smiled and the two doe started nuzzling him.

He fought the urge to smile openly. It would seem his children had found partners, at least for now.

"I do not mind," he said, "But Relnor is right. As soon as Man leaves the meadow, I must return. I hope I will not have any problems back at my herd."

The rest of Relnor's herd agreed.

The smell of burning deer meat from the meadow that night only made agreement more certain.

CHAPTER EIGHT: SEASON

Man hunted in Relnor's forest for three more days, but they were not able to kill any more of the herd. As he told Relnor and his senior males, if they all continued to hide in the deep forest, Man could not find them. This would work as long as Man did not bring dogs into the forest. After the hunting stopped, he waited two days and then carefully looked out onto the meadow and found it empty. It was time to go. After saying goodbye to his son, daughter, and Relnor, he took Faline and his twin fawns across the meadow the next night. They never did see Tion and the other two males again. They were gone and this herd understood why. Perhaps, the fewer herd males and other deer might start to listen to his daughter and his son with more attention.

His return back to his herd went coolly. The other herd males were still reluctant to come near him. There was nothing wrong with the herd he could see, but he was certain the herd had not missed him. They did not look any more relaxed with him around. There was nothing more he could do and went back to being herd leader whether the rest of the herd liked it or not. He patrolled around the meadow at night looking for signs of Man. Other than Filon, no one else even tried to look for danger. It was almost as if the herd decided that Man was no longer a threat here. He knew that was foolish, but even he knew you cannot force deer to listen to you.

Over the next few days, his rack started to itch. That meant he soon scrap off the velvet exposing his rack. The Season would follow that and Man would follow The Season. The sparing between herd males increased in intensity as all males fought to set their place within the herd. Serious fights were few, but there were several cuts, broken racks, and other injuries. The doe took it all in and started making their choices as whom they would partner with. Strength, size, big rack, were all part of what the doe looked at. There were never enough doe in the herd to go around, and the lesser males usually did without. Some would never be strong enough to breed. That was the way of the forest. Only the strongest would breed doe. He did not care personally, the only doe he had interest in was Faline, and there was no one in this herd who was strong enough to challenge him for her. He started to sleep near the meadow again to make it easier to watch.

On one morning, he had just laid down to rest when he heard a yelping noise in the distance. It was a single dog. The yelping got louder and soon the putrid smell of Man blew from the meadow. Man was on the meadow, but there was only one scent. When they hunted deer, there was always more than one Man. He thought there was no danger.

"WHAMMM," he heard. After the noise of the killing stick, the dog starting barking loudly as if chasing after something. A short while later he heard another "WHAMM." Several more times he heard the killing stick during the day. There were also sounds of killing sticks from much further away near the bigger lake. Each time he heard the killing stick, the dog would call out. As the great light started to set, the noise on the meadow went away. There was peace again.

That night he walked around the meadow looking for traces of Man. He smelled the putrid odor of Man and his dog near the fallen oak tree at the edge of the meadow. He looked and there were Man prints on the ground like Filon found before. There was also the track of a dog. He followed it and it led toward the larger lake near where his old home was. That was where the fire had burned down the forest several seasons ago. As he got closer to the large lake, he started to smell smoke. In the smell of the smoke were the scents of burnt birds. Man must be there in greater numbers. He did not want to get any closer so walked back toward the meadow. As he did, he came up to the tree of the Old Owl. He called and Oswell came out.

"Did you see what happened," he asked the owl.

"It was Man," Oswell complained. "He was using his killing stick to knock birds out of the sky. He even got his dog to run through the field and scare birds into flight and then he brought them down. He then got his dog to pick up the dead birds and took them all away with him. I can smell their dead bodies in the air. It is disgusting. I do not burn the animals I catch for food."

"Did Man use his killing stick on anyone else?" he asked.

"No, just birds," the Owl answered.

He remembered that from before Man and dogs would hunt for birds before they hunted for deer. "Be careful, he likes to burn birds and deer too," he said. "It means that we are close to the time when Man hunts the most. This is the time of the year we must be extra careful."

"I do not plan on leaving my tree hollow during the day until the first snow," Oswell said looking toward where the scent was coming from. "Man will be after you deer next," he told him. "You need to be careful."

"I plan to," he said.

He walked back to the meadow. It was almost empty. All the noise kept the deer away. He saw Filon in the field.

"I found a Man print over by the fallen oak where you did before," he told the big deer. "All of us need to be off the meadow before the first show of the great light. Man is back."

"That is bad," Filon said. "In my old forest Man use to hunt birds and then a little while came back for the deer. I think he may do that here also."

"You are likely right," he said. "Just stay off the meadow during the day."

"I will," he said and went back to eating.

He ate some of the fresh grass at the edge of the meadow but was gone before even the first hint of the great light appeared. He took a different path back to Faline's thicket. It took him off the meadow and toward the smaller lake. In front of him was Thumper's tree trunk. He had not seen him for a while. He leaned over.

"Thumper, it is Bambi," he called into the log.

There was no reply. Thumper was never far away from his borough. He called out again only louder. There was still no reply. He put his nose into the log and took in a deep breath. At first, he smelled nothing unusual, but then he picked up a faint odor. It was like the smell in the meadow after Kragus died.

"Thumper," he called out again.

All was quiet. Sadly, he closed his eyes tightly and took in a deep breath. "Goodbye my friend," he said into the trunk and walked away.

He went back to Faline's den and saw her and the two fawns nearby. They were eating the leaves on the bushes growing among the trees near her den. There was no sense bothering them about his friend. They hardly knew him. By now, his daughters were losing their spots and starting to grow their winter coat.

"It has started again," he told Faline. "Avoid the meadow in the light."

"I will," she said. "I have been teaching both Lina and Eta about going near Man. They were asking about you also. I think it is time you started teaching them. They are curious and you are their father. They also know Gurri has learned from you and they want to also."

He felt like saying the main reason he taught Gurri was because she would never stay back when he taught Geno. She was always there with him asking questions. In the past, he felt like the other males that it be a waste of time to teach doe. Gurri had forced him to see that was a mistake. He would not repeat that mistake with his other daughters.

He looked down at his growing daughters. "Very well, as soon as The Season is over and the hunts end, I will start teaching you," he said to all of them. He could only hope they were as smart as their older sister was.

"Thank you, Father," Lina said looking at him with a huge smile. Eta kept quiet as usual.

The next two days passed quietly. He finished scrapping the velvet off his rack. Faline smiled and told him it was larger than last years. He felt good about that. Faline also started to give off the scent of a doe getting near The Season. In the meadow at night, the sparring was turning into serious fights. Celon challenged Filon and lost so that made Filon the new head of the senior males. Filon looked more interested in the three or four season doe. The other three senior males looked at many of the three season doe. The herd males looked for any doe they could get and that was mostly older doe and a few of the yearlings, As usual, the yearling males and the weaker herd males got only what was left, if anything. It made him wondered how Geno and Kelo were getting along. Most of the senior males in Relnor's herd had managed to die stupidly and thereby increasing the chances for the smarter males to breed. None of the males here showed any interest in Faline although he thought she was still the nicest looking of all the doe. No one even attempted to challenge him for her. They all knew better.

The next morning he heard noises from the Meadow. The wind carried the odor. It was Man, this time many of them. There were noises coming from the meadow and from all around the meadow. He saw birds flying away in fear from all around the meadow. He could guess what frighten them. He looked around and saw nothing near him, but the noise was getting closer.

"Listen, we have to leave," he told Faline and the fawns. "Man is getting too close. We are going to run into the trees and run away from the meadow. I will go first. The rest of you keep quiet. If I say run, you all run and do not look behind you."

Faline and his daughter nodded they understood. "He slowly stood up and looked around. There was a crashing noise near him. Something was trying to move through the forest. It was very noisy. It must be Man.

"Go," he told Faline who led the twins out and leaped into the bushes. He thought he saw something move in the distance. He put all his strength into his legs and ran after Faline. He leaped three times and then quickly changed direction like his Father taught him to do near Man.

"WHAMMM," came from close behind. He heard something pass near him like an angry swarm of bees.

"Run," he yelled. He leaped to the left trying to get whoever was behind him to follow him and not Faline.

"OOOOYAAAHAAAHHEY," he heard from behind.

He kept running and changing direction as he went. He ran until he could hear nothing from behind him. He stopped near a thick grove of trees. He sank down to the ground and looked at himself. Nothing looked hurt. He looked carefully at the forest around him while taking in great quantities of air through his nose. The burnt smell came. He also heard many Men banging on something and yelling loudly. It sounded like they were trying to drive deer toward the meadow. The noise went on for a while and then stopped. He heard only one more sound of the killing sticks and all was quiet.

He did not move from his spot. He stayed still all day until it was well after dark. He had not heard any sound from the meadow since the great light was overhead. Only when it was completely dark did he get up and move back toward Faline's thicket. As he moved back, he called out to her. He got back to her thicket and waited. Thankfully, she and both fawns showed up a little while later. None of them looked hurt.

"Are you alright," Faline asked sniffing him over carefully.

"I am fine," he said. "Man tried to surround the meadow and chase the deer into it. It did not work because I heard only the one sound of a killing stick. The others must have run far enough away to avoid Man."

"That is good," she said. "I hope Geno and Gurri are alright."

"We taught them well enough," he told her.

"Will Man be back?" she asked.

"We will know in the morning. This time at the first sound of Man in the Meadow, we will leave. In the meantime, we will eat in the forest and avoid the meadow until Man goes."

The next morning and the morning after that, they had to run again into the forest as Man tried to chase deer into the meadow. Each time they hid deep in the woods where Man could not find them. During this time, he heard only three sounds from the killing sticks, so Man did not find many deer to kill. After that, Man left. He waited two days with no sound on the meadow before he went back to feed there at night.

He first went back to the meadow. When he got there he saw Filon there along with Celon, Atlan, and Delon. The four senior males were standing apart from the others calmly watching the doe. The herd males were in another group. Fights were breaking out all over that group. The smell from the females was strong and that made him feel uneasy around the other males. As he walked through the meadow, seeming not noticing what was going on around him. There was a change of wind that blew the scent of blood and death to his nose. He walked slowly and came to a spot just away from the meadow that had lots of blood and the scent of a dead deer. He smelled the scent, but other than the fact it was a male, he could not recognize who died. He heard a rustling of branches behind him. He turned to see Filon following him.

"Man did not find many deer," Filon told him from a distant. He was formal and direct. He also looked agitated as all males get at this time. "Running away from the meadow worked well. Man could not get behind us to chase us."

"I am glad so many listened to what I said," he told him with relief. "I wish they all had listen," and looked down at the spot the unknown deer had died.

"I think the herd will break up after tonight," Filon said. "The scents from the doe are getting stronger. The fights are getting fiercer."

"I know," it is The Season again. "I am going to take Faline into the forest. Have you selected your doe?"

"I am still looking, but I think I will have at least two doe that will have my fawns in the spring."

"Good," he said and felt himself starting to get even more agitated at all the males around him. "I am leaving," he said. "Be careful if Man comes back. I will see you after The Season."

He quickly walked off the meadow wanting nothing to do with the herd. It was like this every Season. All he wanted to do is find Faline and go with her. He went back to Faline's thicket and called the twins to him.

"Your mother and I have to go away for a while. You are big enough to be on your own. Eat in the trees near here," he told them firmly. "Drink in the small stream. Do not go into the meadow. There is great danger there. Your Mother and I will be back soon."

"Yes Father," Lina said. Eta just nodded.

"When we get back I will start teaching you about the forest," he told them. The both smiled openly because now he was starting to treat them as big deer.

He then started to smell at Faline's tail. She was almost ready to breed, but not yet.

"Faline come," he said and they both ran off into the forest.

She ran ahead of him her white tail up and her scent flowing back to him. This was the time he always felt closest to her. He watched her run occasional turning her head and smiling at him. Her sleek body and beautiful face made the urges building inside of him build even greater. After running awhile, she stopped by a near some trees and lay down. He lay next to her. She leaned on him and her scent filled his noise causing his body to quiver.

"Thank you again for staying with me," he whispered to her.

"You are the only male I have ever wanted," she told him.

Later that night they got up and chased each other around the forest like fawns again. She ran from him but always allowed him to catch her. By first light, they were both exhausted and lay down in the open. When she emptied herself near him, he could smell the strong scent of a doe almost ready to breed. They lay down on the grass and rested. It was well after the greater light rose that she stood up.

"Come with me," she told him.

He eagerly got up and she raised her tail. From her tail and her legs came the overpowering scent of a doe ready to breed. He ran his nose against the soft fur of her hindquarters. As he did, she suddenly stopped and spread her legs and arched her back. It was an invitation. An invitation he immediately accepted.

Sometime later, when he regained his senses they lay down on some grass and rested. The scent of a doe ready to breed was gone and replaced by the smell of a doe that was well bred. For the third time, she accepted him as her mate and he was content. He let the other males chase doe and then forget about them. To him, this was much better. He knew over the next few days, all the doe would be breeding and so the next group of fawns would be born in the spring. Life always went on his Father had taught him. It would go on with or without him, but it would go on. All he could do was try to leave his mark on the forest as so many had done in the past and would do in the seasons to come.

It was three days later that he and Faline returned to the thicket and the two fawns. Both were sleeping during the day. Both looked healthy. Both growing fawns slept closely together. No predator had come around that he could smell. He rested nearby with Faline still lying close to him.

Now that The Season had spent its effects on the herd, it was time to start what he promised. He took both Lina and Eta out for a walk with their mother. He started with showing the young doe how to walk quietly. How to look where they put their feet so they do not step on twigs or anything else that would give their location away. They walked slowly at first to let the fawns try to walk quietly. At first, it was difficult. Both of them tripped over things and stumbled. That was how both Geno and Gurri started to learn. It was the same for him when he learned from his Father. It took practice to do and in time they would do better. He also taught them how to smell and what each smell was. There was much to learn. Both seemed eager to learn. Lina asked lots of question and even quiet Eta asked a few.

He had done this for only a few days. He was hoping Man was gone for the season, but it was still too early to know for sure. They were out walking near his Father's old cave when he smelled a familiar scent near them. He looked at Faline who had smelled it too and smiled. He listened and barely heard someone coming up from behind. Even Faline did not hear it.

"You are getting very good, my son," he called out.

Geno came out of the forest and kissed his mother and younger sisters. He walked carefully. He rack was smaller than his, but nice looking for a yearling. He looked quite a handsome male. His appearance surprised him. He figured he stay with Relnor's herd until winter.

"I decided to come back to help out in case Man came back," he said. "Gurri and Kelo are staying with that herd. I think Kelo thinks he will be a senior male in that herd and I was showing him how to fight. I hope it is no surprise to you that Gurri and Kelo are a pair now."

"I am glad," Faline said. "What about you and those two doe."

Geno smiled and looked a bit embarrassed. "I mated with both during the Season. One of the herd males tried to push me aside, but I took care of him quickly. He will not do that again. Both doe wanted me and so I took both. It was tiring, but I enjoyed myself. It was funny, however; after The Season, they both seemed to lose interest in me. There was nothing to keep me there anymore so I decided to come back here. Gurri was teaching the herd what to do near Man, and the other deer seemed to be listening to her. I see you are teaching my younger sisters."

"Yes, it is time we started with them the same as we started with you and your sister," he said.

"Good," he said and nuzzled both his sisters. "Any there any more signs of Man?" he said.

"No," he said, "But I do not think that will last."

Geno looked around. "It is still dark," Geno said. I will go near the meadow and look. Do not worry; I will be gone long before the greater light rises."

He thought that was a good idea. He was going to do the same thing himself after finishing with the fawns. "Be careful, my son, and remember what both your Grandfather and I taught you."

"I will," he said. "I do not want anything to happen to me now. I am starting to enjoy life."

With that, his son disappeared almost silently into the forest. Both fawns seem to gape at how quiet he was.

Faline leaned over and spoke softly to both his daughters. "See, if you listen to your Father, you will be able to do that next season."

"Yes, Mother," they both said and he went on with the lesson.

They all stayed near the spot Gurri stayed with Kelo. They ate and he showed the girls to empty themselves away from where they slept as not to draw predators to them. As soon as the greater light showed itself, they all stopped and he found a place for them to sleep. The next night he took them back to Faline's thicket and he went to the meadow. Both his daughters seemed to be catching on. As he went on the field, he expected to see Geno, but did not. He did see Filon and the other senior males. As he came on the Meadow, he saw Filon walk over toward him.

"Any sign of Man?" he asked.

"I have seen nothing," he said.

"Did you do well during The Season?" he asked.

Filon broke out into laughter. "Bambi I did better than back in my old herd. I found three doe who wanted to come with me."

"That is good," he said. "I also heard only one sound of killing sticks when Man was here before."

"No, the herd scattered exactly like you told them to do," Filon told him. "Man could not find us and went away."

"That is also good. Have you seen Geno?" he asked.

"I saw him last night," Filon said. "He was walking in the trees just outside of the meadow. It was as if he was looking for something. I asked him what he was looking for and he told me he found the scents of Man and dogs. Near the middle of the night, he left and looked like he was going to follow the Man tracks. After that, he disappeared. You know he has a nice rack for a yearling. It would not surprise me if he was a senior male here by next season."

He did not agree. He did not want to push Geno along too fast. He was big, but was still not big enough to become a senior male, although he had no doubt he be one soon. That is if any of them lived that long. "That may be," he said in passing. "He will still be too young, I think."

With that, he left the others and ate by himself in the meadow and drank in the nearby stream. He walked slowly around the edge of the meadow and then he saw it. Fresh foot tracks of Men were walking around the meadow. A dog was with him. He also noticed the track of a male deer. One sniff of his nose and he knew they belonged to Geno. The deer tracks followed the man and dog tracks. It was getting late so he went back to Faline and his daughters and hope Geno was smart enough to stay out of trouble.

He did not see his son the next night either. He heard no sounds of killing sticks so there was no hunting going on. Faline, Lina, and Eta ate on the meadow that night. Unlike before, the fawns this time did not play with the other near their age. They stayed close to him and their mother while the other fawns from his year frolicked on the meadow. He continued to look around and found more Man prints on the other side of the meadow. It smelled like the same Man. Man was watching for signs of deer and there were plenty around. Celon, Delon, and Atlan took notice and the so did Filon. They all came over to see him. He could tell things were still cold between Celon and Filon after their fight.

We have seen you looking," Atlan blurted out. "Do you see any danger?"

"No obvious danger," he said, "But a Man and dog have looked closely at this meadow. That concerns me. It means Man is looking for us like I look for him."

"They could be getting ready to hunt here," Atlan said.

"That is what concerns me but I do not see. . ." his voice trailed off. Onto the meadow running was Geno. He looked around, saw them and came over. He was wet with sweat. He had run for a while. Something was wrong. He barked at his son to come over. He did so quickly.

"Sorry for disturbing you and the others," he said in near exhaustion. "Man is in the forest. There are many Men over by the large lake. They have killing sticks and they have dogs. They have many dogs. They may come here soon."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"I followed the Man tracks from our meadow. I followed them staying out of sight and keeping far behind. They led me to where other Men and the dogs are. A Man had gone from where the Men are to here and he has done it several times."

"Are you sure," Celon asked.

"I know that I saw more Men than I could count and more dogs than I want to count. They are getting ready to hunt, but I do not know where."

With that, Geno dropped his head and started to breathe deeply trying to get air into his body.

"They may come here, or they, may not," he told the others. "One thing for sure, that many Men and dogs, it means they are going to hunt someplace."

"I do not think we can take the chance, Father," Geno stammered out.

"No, we cannot," he said and looked at the others. "The herd must scatter. If Man does not come here, we lose nothing. If Man brings many dogs here, they can run us all down. They do not have to chase us into the meadow."

"You are right," Cleon said. Dogs can run deer down and either tear them to pieces, or hold them until Man comes with his killing sticks. I have seen this before when I was a fawn. My mother and I barely got away. Many others did not."

"We must flee," Atlan said and ran off into the forest.

He called out to the other deer. "Run, Run now. Man may be here soon with dogs. Flee and do not come back here."

He looked at his son. "Take your Mother and sisters and go back to the thicket. I will join you there shortly.

Geno nodded and staggered off still suffering the effect of his exertions.

"Geno," Filon called out. His son turned around. "You did well, herd male."

He looked at him with some concern. Filon noticed it.

"Next spring he will be that anyway," he said. "That is assuming any of us live through this. I am leaving Bambi."

Filon turned around and fled. Atlan and Delon did the dame. He turned around and saw the deer leaving the meadow quickly. The greater light would come soon, time for him to go.

For the first time since he was a fawn, he was really afraid of what was going to happen next. 

CHAPTER NINE: FILON

It was nearly the time of The Season. The desire to get his doe was already building inside of him, an overpowering urge to select his mates and breed. The feeling was like a deep hunger, but not a hunger for food. This was a hunger for mates. It was a hunger he could not ignore. It was time to start selecting the doe from the herd to breed.

Filon walked out onto the open meadow expecting to see Bambi. He was not there. That was unusual, Bambi was always there, always looking out, always providing advice and warnings. It was always a puzzle to him why he did it. He heard some of the other herd males, especially the older ones, tell stories about the herd leader and his Father. While he understood the respect given to the Great Prince of the Forest, he could not understand why that deer had watched over this herd for so long. He would have never done it, even if he could. He did not care about this herd like the Great Prince must have or that his son Bambi does now.

Over the seasons he came to realize that all deer herd had herd leaders. All herds had an order from the strongest to the weakest. That was just the way things were. Always the strongest and largest male led the others, mostly because he could get their way with lesser males by fighting and beating them. In his old herd, that is the way it had always been. However, no one ever tried to lead the herd, to give advice, or watch over the herd. That was up to each deer. If you were too stupid to see the signs of danger, you deserved to die. As his own Father told him, you live only as long as you are strong enough and smart enough to stay away from Man and the other predators. The idea that he would go out and watch over and warn the other deer seemed foolish to him. It was one thing if he stumbled upon something like he did with the man print. Then he would tell the others, but to do it all the time seemed stupid. Yet Bambi and his children did that constantly and never could understand why.

Although the scent from the nearby doe put him on edge, he decided to walk over and talk to Cleon, Atlan, and Delon. They were the largest and strongest of the males and that is why they were the senior males. He wanted to know if any of them would stop him from making his pick of doe for The Season first. If they did try and stop him, then there would be a fight. He did not like fights. It wasted energy he might need later in the winter. There was also the risk of injury or death in fights. Still, other than Bambi, he was the lead deer in this herd and if anyone disputed that, too bad for them. He did not want to fight, but he always had to be ready to fight to show his place in the herd.

As he approached, Cleon looked up and walked away. No doubt still angry that he had beaten him. He would have no trouble from him. The other two had not challenged him, so he had not fought them. He would not have fought either Cleon or Kragas if they had not challenged him. A senior male can never walk away from a challenge. That is if he wants to be respected in any herd. More important, no doe will go with a male who will not accept a challenge. Doe are very selective. The biggest and strongest of both male and doe looked to mate with each other. He knew he was the best deer on the meadow, so he wanted the best doe here.

That was something else he did not understand about Bambi's family. Bambi and Gurri looked for mates they could like. What did that have to do with anything? Doe mated with males who were strong enough to beat the other males, and males bred as many doe as they could. Liking you mate did not matter a bit. Besides, after the Season, you all went your separate ways. Why Feline and Bambi stayed together, he had no idea either. He certainly he never felt anything toward any of the doe he bred except the urge to bred them. Otherwise they were just deer in the herd. He had no idea how many children he had in the old forest. He never cared, and certainly did not try and teach any of his fawns except for his two sons he did know about. He sparred with them and showed them some things much like when your mother teaches you in when you are a fawn. His father did that to him, but the teaching was brief and consisted of his Father talking to him. He would show him ways to fight and stay alive. It was certainly nothing like how Bambi taught his children over an entire season. The other thing was that once you were a yearling male, then you were own your own. At least that how it had been for him. Bambi kept teaching Geno over two seasons. That was much more than his Father or he ever did.

"Greetings," he called out to the two remaining senior males.

They just nodded; they also looked at him with suspicion. They had done that since he killed Kragus. It was almost like they still blamed him for his death.

"Where is our herd leader?" he asked.

"He left earlier with his two young daughters. He was teaching them about something then left," Atlan told him. "I do not think he liked the fact the herd still treats him coolly. The herd still blames them for Ronno's death and the death of the other two males. I also blame him and I admit I am still nervous around him and his son. "

"Besides, sometimes I find our herd leader a bore to listen to," Delon added. "He is always giving advice like his Father; always acting as if he is the only one who knows anything. Now his son is starting to act just like him. I am only half sorry Ronno and his friends did not kill both of them. At least it would be quieter on the Meadow."

"He does warn us about danger," he added.

"Yes, and in that way he is helpful," Atlan said. "However the way he tells us what we should do makes it sound like we are new born fawns that have no idea what dangers lie in the forest. His Father was the same way. The only reason I listened to his Father was because he was the oldest and wisest deer in the forest and we all knew that. Not only that, If his constant chatter was not bad enough, Bambi killed Ronno, and his son killed the other two. That scared the herd and it also scared me. Not because killing Ronno was a great loss, he was a fool at best, but it was the way they did it so easily. I have to ask myself if Bambi will do that to Ronno, would he also do that to me?"

"Bambi and his son are strong yes, but are they violent?" he asked. "I do not think so. Ronno was no herd leader. He was bad at giving orders because he was so stupid. He could not see danger if there was a bear next to him. I and most of the herd he just ignored him. At least Bambi is wiser"

Just then a mild breeze blew the scent of doe coming into season toward him and the others. The doe were getting ready to breed. Instantly he felt the urge inside of him to take one or more doe and breed them. He also started to feel agitated toward the other males who were looking to do the same thing. They looked at him the same way.

Atlan paused for a moment to take in the scent and then looked at him and went on. "I am glad Bambi is also only interested in Feline. That means more doe available for us. With Ronno and Kragus both gone, there is even more doe for us in the Season."

With that the senor male started to walk toward the doe herd. No doubt to take his pick of the doe. He was not going to allow that. He was first in line as he already proved.

"STOP!" he told the other two. "I chose first unless you both want to challenge me like Cleon and Kragus did."

He dropped his head and made it clear to both of them that they would have to go through him to get to the doe. Both backed up as he thought they would. He smiled broadly know he had proven to all the other deer who the lead male is. He turned and walked toward the doe herd raising his tail and letting his sent lose in the breeze.

"Do not worry," he called back to all three senior males. "I will only take two or three. You can fight among yourselves who chooses next."

He walked toward the deer herd and stopped upwind of the where his scent would be blown toward the doe. Several doe started to walk towards him. The first doe was a smallish, and thin. That was not very attractive to him. He faked a charge toward her to let her know he was not interested in her. She ran off. Soon another doe approached. She was a four season doe and was bigger, better looking and has a pleasant scent to her. She looked good.

"What is your name?" he asked the approaching doe.

"Rena," she said and got close enough to sniff at his hind quarters. He squirted some sent at her letting her smell for herself he was a powerful male.

"Rena would you like to come with me?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

He used his head to gently push her to one side of him and looked toward the doe herd again. Another doe came close with a skinny male fawn he would have called a runt. He would not make a son like that so he pushed her away. The next doe that approached him was another nice looking large three season doe with a very healthy large doe fawn. The fawn was big for her age. This doe would be a good mate for him.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Bara," she told him and got close to smell him deciding if she wanted him. She stayed indicated she was interested.

"I would like to come with you," she told him. "Her voice was not that pleasant to the ear, but she looked good.

"I do not mind," he told her ""Leave your fawn. You can come back later for her."

Bara turned around to face her fawn and chased her away by lightly kicking her. The young thing did not understand, so he stamped his feet and started to chase the fawn who ran away frightened into the forest.

That was two good doe. He started to walk both of them off the meadow when a yearling fawn approached. She was still small, but well built like Gurri. Normally he was not interested in young doe, but at her approach, she was challenged by another doe with a fawn who tried to block her path to him. Instead of running away, the yearling reared up and kicked the older doe in the side, chasing her off. He liked that. It showed her interest and her strength.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Ina," she said in a nice voice.

"Very well Ina, you can come with me also," he said and continued to walk off the meadow with all three doe near him. Now the other senior males could decide what they wanted now that he had what he wanted.

He led his doe to a place near where he bedded. The forest was filled with small clearings and he lived in this one. He brought the three doe with him and let them eat the grass. As they walked by him, he sniffed at their tail. They were not ready to be bred, but they would be soon. He stayed closed to them keenly aware if any other male got close. A couple of herd male did smell their scent the doe put off, but they both left quickly when he approached them with his head down and ready for a fight. Other than that, they lived quietly together.

On the second morning he heard the sounds of Man shouting followed soon by the noise of killing sticks from the nearby meadow. The sounds scared the doe.

"Man is here," the youngest called out.

"Come with me," he told the three and they all followed him into the deeper forest. No Man could get behind him now to chase them to their doom. "

"We are safe here," he said to all of them and nuzzled all the doe behind her ears. Doe loved it when a male did that to them. The hunting noise continued for three rising of the greater light and then stopped. During that time, they did not speak much to each other. All were waiting for the full impact of The Season. Every time one of the doe emptied themselves he smelled at the waste pile and noted the scent. So far the scents of breeding doe were getting stronger. The three doe did the same to him when he emptied himself. He was showing himself to be a strong deer that would be the best father for their fawns. Whether their fawns were males or doe, it did not matter. Most likely he would have almost nothing to do with raising them. That would be a problem for their mothers.

The day the killing sticks noise stopped another herd male wandered into his clearing. He was away getting a drink, but smelled the strange scent as he came back to his three doe. Almost without thinking he put his head down and charged. He moved quickly into his clearing. He saw the male sniffing at the tail of Bara who did not seem to care one way or another. His onrush made enough noise so by the time he got to the clearing the male had already turned and started to run away. It was not fast enough. He caught the male in the rear and without thinking lashed at him. There was a scream of pain and the smell of blood. He stopped chasing after that. The male was hurt and fleeing. At that point he did not care if the male died or not. No one breeds his doe.

It was the next morning that Bara came over to him and started to nuzzle him along the back and tail. He sniffed at her tail and could tell she was ready to breed. She went over to the stream and took in a long drink, then emptied herself on the ground. When he smelled her waste, he knew for sure she was ready to breed. They left the other two doe and walked into the forest. She had not gone far when Bara stopped, hunched her back and raised her tail. He quickly mounted her and pushed himself deep inside her. After pushing for a while he felt the pressure build up inside of him until he felt ready to explode. A moment later he did explode outward, and into the doe. He slid off of her, back onto the ground breathing heavily like he just fought a large male. Bara stayed nearby. All the pressure and tension he felt within him vanished in an instant. For a few moments he was exhausted, but he recovered quickly. They both walked back to the other two doe in silence. Their scents told the others all they needed to know. He lay down and Bara lay down next to him.

"That was good," he said to her before closing his eyes and resting. She just lay next to him resting her head on his large shoulder. Later that night he bred her again, but afterwards all the scent she was putting out stopped. Immediately he lost his interest in her, and she moved away from him. By the next morning Bara had left them. The Season had worked through her.

The morning after that Rena came into Season and the same thing happened again. By the time he had bred her a second time, he was exhausted. However, she was larger and seemed to want more from him. She stayed for a while longer and it became necessary to bred her a third time before they were satisfied. It did not matter, once she was satisfied, she left also.

That left only Ina who did not come into Season immediately. She followed him around for a couple of days sleeping close to him.

"The other doe told me you came from a different herd," she said to him on day while they were resting.

"Yes," he told her.

"Are the other deer different in the other herd than in this herd? I only know this herd and I was curious."

"No," he told her. "The deer are the same except we had no one like Bambi and The Great Prince. Our herd leader just tells the smaller males what to do and where to go. He does not try and help the herd like Bambi does. As long as our herd leader gets his pick of the doe, that is all he cares about."

"I would like to feel for a male," she said licking the side of his mouth. "I like seeing how Faline feels for Bambi. I think it be nice to have a male near you all the time. I would like the male that makes my fawns to teach them like Bambi taught Geno and Gurri and like he teaches his new fawns."

He felt like laughing, but then this was her first breeding season. "It is not like that," he told her. "You saw how Rena and Bara left after we were finished. They had no feelings for me."

"Did you feel anything for them?" the young doe asked.

"I felt glad they decided to come with me. I felt the desire to breed them, but after I did, all those feelings went away. It is how it is among males."

"Then why is Bambi and Faline different," the young doe asked.

"That Ina, I do not know," he answered and he really did not know. "Our herd leader is a very strange deer. He does not act like any deer I have ever known before."

"I think it is nice," he said.

"I would not know," he said. "I never could develop any lasting feeling for any doe after I bred them. I do not think I am mean, or bad, but I just do not feel these things."

"Oh," the young doe said and turned away. She still remained lying next to him. "Can I ask you one more thing?"

"What?" he said briskly. This talk was starting to get strange.

"If my fawn is a male, would you teach him when he is a fawn and a yearling. I would want my son to know from his father how to best live in the forest."

In all his life, no doe had ever asked him anything like that. Still if her fawn was a male and he was as strong as him when he was young, it could not hurt. He found the idea appealing for some reason.

"If you have a son by me, then yes, when the time comes, I will teach him," he promised. I am not sure what I can teach him, but I will try. That is assuming any of us are alive by then."

The young doe turned and licked his face again. "Thank you," she said. "If you want, I will be your doe during the next Season."

Now that was strange.

Ita came into Season the next morning. He bred her, but he was not as forceful as the other two doe. They were experience doe, and this was Ita first breeding Season. He did breed her twice and she seemed to like it. After the second time her scent changed like the other two doe. His desire for her fell away, and she because just another doe to him. He desire also seemed to lesson, but she still stayed with him when he went back to the meadow. She came up and licked him once on his face and then walked back to the bred doe in the herd. Thankfully, she did not want to stay next to him. Afterwards, he would always notice her watching him carefully from the doe herd. She was still interested in him. He rather liked it in a way.

Bambi had returned right after he returned to the meadow, but his older children did not come back with him. Faline was with him and she put out the scent of a bred doe. He saw the herd leader walking with his two doe fawns showing them the forest. That was interesting, but it was not something he would never do. It seemed a waste of time for him. Of course Gurri was no fool, as those other yearlings found out earlier in the season, but she was still a doe. He would listen to her if she saw something, but he would never let her or any other doe tell him what to do like a herd leader would. That would make him a fool in his own herd. He would just as soon let a small male deer order him around. He knew that just like Gurri, both of Bambi's younger children would end up like their older sister ignored by most of the males. You think the herd leader would understand by now. Doe are just bred, not listened too. He just looked at it as more strange behavior from his herd leader.

He went back to roaming around the meadow. He did keep a close watch on the forest looking for danger. He was not doing this so he could warn the herd. He was looking for signs of Man so He would not get close to him without his notice. He knew that he was the type of deer Man like to kill for some reason. The best way to avoid Man is to know he is there. That was one of the few things his Father taught him. So he looked from time to time. He saw nothing.

After The Season, things relaxed more on the meadow. Most herd deer still did not talk to him, but the other senior males and Bambi would. They were the ones that counted. That the herd males did not talk to him bothered him not. What did they know except how to be dominated by him and the other senior males? This went on for several risings of the greater light when after dark, he saw Geno on the meadow again. The young male was looking for something.

He walked up to Bambi's son and watched him looking. He followed him over to the far edge of the meadow where the yearling stopped, got down and sniffed the grass. He went over wondering what he was looking at.

"Did you find something?" he asked.

"Look," the young male said and pointed with his nose to the ground. He looked down and sure enough he smelled the odor of Man and another animal he could not place.

"What is it? Geno?" he asked.

"There is man and that other scent is a dog," he said as if he was certain. "Now look here."

He went over to a bare piece of ground and looked at it. There was a print of a man and the print of a huge fox or coyote.

"It is a dog," Geno said. "

"Man and dog here, what does he want?" he asked the young deer.

"They are watching us," Geno said looking off into the distance. "I am not sure why but the tracks go that way toward the big lake."

Without a further word the young deer left him following the tracks. Why would a young male follow Man tracks? That was asking to die. He would not do that, it was far too dangerous, but then he was not Bambi's son. Just the fact Man was nearby was enough for him to leave.

He walked away shaking his head. Geno was very different than the other herd males. His Father had seen to that. The other herd males he ignored. They meant nothing; there was no one there who could challenge anytime soon. Geno was much different. He knew a deer that size as a yearling would grow to large enough to challenge him in a season or two. He was big for a yearling; he could fight well thanks to his Father; and did not back away from trouble. He was not strong enough yet to fight the senior males, but that would change in another season. Even so, the yearling did not back down from a fight and certainly had no problems in killing those two males. Every herd male respected him and let him get his way. He respected the yearling and knew it would not be long before him and Geno would contend to be leader of the senior males. Since he was much older than Geno, he knew how that fight would go now. How it would go later, he was not so sure. This is why he wanted to remain at least friendly to the yearling and his Father. He had to admit Geno was the male that would likely replace him some day. That is if either of them lived that long.

The next night he saw Bambi enter the meadow. They talked for a while, and he told him about his son. He did not say much to any of them, but spent his time eating and also look around the meadow. He saw the herd leader go over and look at where Geno found the scents to the Man and dog. He could also see the way Geno's trail left going into the forest. He decided he would not say anything to Bambi about his conversation with his son. Geno's scent would tell him all he needed to know. Bambi left the meadow near dawn looking more concerned than he ever remembered him looking before. The herd leader was worried and that meant he started to worry.

The next night Bambi and his family returned to the meadow. He went over and started talking to the senior males. He had come over and heard Atlan asking him questions. Bambi was just answering when Geno half ran and half stumbled into the meadow; he looked exhausted. It looked like he had run for a while. It took a while, but what he heard sounded like many Men was near the forest with lots of dogs. He did not need Bambi to explain to him what it meant. Geno was right; Man was going to hunt with dogs, and he was going to hunt here. That was all he needed to hear.

As a matter of thanks he told Geno he had done a good job. For some reason Bambi did not look like he liked his comment. He was just trying to be nice. It did not matter; he did not need the herd leader to tell him what to do.

Without saying much to anyone else, he disappeared into the forest and went well away from the meadow.

He knew that much.

CHAPTER TEN: LEADERS

Gurri watched her parents and sisters leave the forest. They ran across the open field toward the hill her Grandfather used to live on. She was sorry to see them go. It meant she was alone. She knew Geno was still here, but in her mind, that meant she was still alone. It did not matter much. She turned back to Kelo and smiled at him.

"Let us go," she said and raised her white tail and ran into the cover of the trees.

When she stopped running and Kelo caught up, she saw he had a strange look on his face. He saw Kelo take a large breath through his nose smelling her scent.

"You have a wonderful scent," he said.

"Thank you", she smiled knowing exactly what he meant.

She had no practically strong feelings for Kelo, but he seemed to care about her, and he listened to her. Despite what her Father and brother said, that was still a rarity. She remembered Tino and his friends had ignored her and they were now gone. Although she did not like to see any deer killed by Man, she felt some satisfaction after she told them to run away and they insulted her. At least the yearlings and some of the two and three season deer heeded her advice and were alive. Even Relnor did not seem to mind when she spoke up.

As the days went on, the males finished scrapping the velvet off their racks. About the same time, she could smell the doe starting to put out scent. She did it too. She did not want to, but her body did it anyway. That was the signal for the males to start their fights. While she and Kelo were out eating in the open field at night she saw Geno and his two doe, Margo and Edgi walk onto the open field to eat. Both does were putting out scent and it did not go unnoticed by the other males. One of the three season males came up and started to sniff at Edgi's tail. The male was larger than Geno but not as large as Kelo. He tried to nudge her aside and away from Geno. Her brother turned back quickly and put his head down ready to fight.

"Watch this," she told Kelo.

"The other male is bigger than Geno and heavier," Kelo said obviously thinking the bigger male would win.

The male charged Geno with his head down. Geno did the same. They met with a resounding knock they could easily hear. Both males looked stunned, but Geno recovered first and went at the male hitting him hard and forcing him back. The male backed up, shook his head, and then charged again. This time Geno did not follow through with his charge and pulled away and turned quickly letting the male rush past him. As the male went by him, Geno lunged at the deer's exposed flank running his rack along his side. She knew her brother could have seriously hurt the male. Instead, he only scrapped his rack lightly leaving several dark welts along the side. The pain was enough for the other male to keep on running bleeding lightly from his left side. The male was not seriously hurt. Geno watched him go, did nothing, and went back to his two doe. She saw the other, larger males look at the fight. Her brother may only be a yearling male, but a yearling that others should leave alone.

"I never saw that in a fight before," Kelo said.

She turned and smiled at him. "I know; that is my Father's teaching. All of us know how to fight. After The Season, you should have Geno teach you some of what he knows," she suggested.

"Maybe I will," Kelo said.

That is what she liked about Kelo. He had not been taught like Geno and she had, but he was not stupid and arrogant. He would listen and learn while other males would not.

Fortunately, none of the older males in the herd challenged Kelo for her. A few males came close to sniff at her tail, but Kelo always made them run away by just dropping his head as a threat. She was feeling more comfortable around this male. As the days went on, she started feeling closer to Kelo than ever before. She knew that was The Season working itself within her. Her body also started putting out more and different scents. She was a doe getting ready to breed. They slept close together at night. She found his scent overpowering at times making her long for him. There was no doubt in her mind now; Kelo would be the father of her fawn in the spring. Looking around the forest, she knew that other than Geno, Relnor, and those two males that were always near him, Kelo was the best male in the forest. He did not seem interested in other doe like Geno. That made her happy. She did not want to be just another doe that was bred in The Season and then left. She wanted someone to be near her all the time like her father stayed near to her mother. One morning she woke as Kelo got up and emptied himself. She could clearly smell the scent of a male ready to breed. It was time to go.

"Come with me," she told him. "It is time for us go and be alone."

She led him deep into the forest where the trees were so thick, their overhead canopies blotted out the greater light. The forest was cool and damp. There were only a few openings among the trees and not much grass grew in these openings, but it was enough for them to eat. There were several small streams nearby. She looked around and found a nice thicket like her mother's near such a small opening. She could smell no predators and not many deer came near here. This would be a good place to give birth to a fawn. She would remember this place in the future. She marked the location with her own scent and then lay down on the cool layer of leaves.

Kelo came in very close and looked at her. "I do feel for you," he told her and then kissed her on the mouth. He then nuzzled her gently not just on her face, but along her back, especially by her tail.

"I feel for you," she told him. At that moment she and did feel an almost overpowering urge to be with this male.

They fell asleep but she woke up midway through the day. The urges were now overpowering, guiding her in what to do. She got up and emptied herself near their thicket. Kelo came over and smelled her. She then walked away from him a few steps and then braced her front and back legs. She felt ready for something. She raised her tail. Kelo came up from her back and got on top of her.

She then let Kelo do the rest.

He did it that time and at two other times over the next day. This was what they meant by breeding. It went on and then just as suddenly as those feeling came onto her, the great overpowering urge stopped. Although the two of them stayed together, she did not allow him to couple with her again. That was over. It was the next day they decided to go back to the herd. Before they left she marked the place well.

"Remember this place," she told Kelo gently. "When the time comes, I will have my fawns here."

He said nothing but only kissed her again. They both walked back out into the forest closer to the open field. By now, The Season had spent its fury. One of the first deer she saw was her brother who was with his two doe, but not nearly as close to them as before. She went over to him.

"Are you well, Geno," she asked?

He took a smell of her and nodded. "Yes, it was a good Season. I bred both Margo and Edgi, but now they both seem less interest in me. How are you?"

"I am fine," she said. She knew her scent would tell Geno everything he needed to know about what happened to her. "Now that The Season is over, and before your racks drop off, I was hoping you could teach Kelo some of the things Father taught you about fighting."

He looked at her mate and shrugged. "I do not mind, we can start tonight if you want too."

"I would like that," Kelo said gratefully.

"We must now be very careful," Geno said. "Both Grandfather and Father told us after The Season would come the hunts. We must watch to see if Man comes back."

"I know," she said. "I just hope the others will listen to us if Man comes back.

That night she watched as Kelo and Geno sparred in the open field. Kelo was bigger than Geno and stronger, yet he had problems in pushing Geno back. Geno would change his position, change his stance, and always managed to throw Kelo off balance. This frustrated Kelo who knew he should win, but he could not. Then Geno would show him what he did wrong. This continued for a few more nights before Geno stopped one night and called her over.

"You are learning," he told Kelo. It has been harder to push you back now that you can change position quickly. In any case, the lessons must end. I am going back to our old forest."

"I thought you were happy here," she said.

"I was," he said sadly. "Neither Margo nor Edgi want anything to do with me anymore. Their feelings vanished with The Season. I am going to go back and help Father with the herd before Man shows up."

"You can help here," she told him.

Her brother shook his head no. "You know what Father taught as well as I do, Gurri," he told her. "You have a large mate who this herd respects. You will do well here. I can help Father best back at our old herd."

She could argue with him, but his feelings for this place only ran as deep as his feelings for the two doe. If they were gone, he would be gone also.

"Very well, brother," she said calmly "I will do the best I can. I just hope I can get the others to listen."

"They will," Geno said.

"You should tell Relnor," she said.

"I already have," he whispered. "I do not think he liked it, but there is little he can do. I have made up my mind to go."

The following night, she watched her brother go like her parents. Other than Kelo, she was truly alone here now.

Relnor did not like the fact Geno went and started to ignore her. The younger deer still gathered around her at times to listen to her teach the lessons her Father taught her. This was not exactly what she wanted, but she knew she did not want to go back to her old herd. She knew she they would ignore her there. Here at least some of the deer would listen to her.

It was a few days later that she woke one morning to a funny smell. It smelled burnt. It smelled familiar when suddenly she realized what it was. It was smoke. She jumped to her feet and looked around. It was light and the smell was coming from the open field in the distance.

Kelo opened his eyes looking at her wondering what was wrong when his nose smelled it.

"Man is here," she told him.

Her mate shot to his feet looking at her. She listened carefully and heard no sounds. She walked forward toward the open field when Kelo stopped her.

"No," he said. "We never move toward Man you told me."

"Yes, but the other deer need to know to flee," she said. "Man is not near us or we would hear him."

She walked carefully forward picking her way carefully among the trees. The wind was blowing from the open field and even though she smelled smoke, she did not smell Man. They traveled slowly until there came to one of the clearings. This was as far as she would go. She lay down on the ground at the edge of the clearing. Kelo lay down next to her and waited.

A short while later she saw both doe and young males moving away from the field. A few were running. She barked and called them over and told them to go hide in the forest. Soon she saw Relnor and his senior males come into the opening. She stood up and went over to him.

"Man is here, but it does not sound or smell as if he is in the forest," she said.

"Will they try to chase us again into the field?" Kelo asked.

"I do not know," she admitted, "But as long as we can hear or smell anything of Man we need to stay away from the open field."

"Just like your Father told me," Relnor said. "I will call all the deer here."

Relnor went out into the middle of the clearing and started bellow out loudly. "Here, Here all come here," he called out.

Soon the deer started to appear. Fist the herd males, the yearlings, and then the doe and this year's fawns. As soon as they were all there Relnor told them: "We need to stay away from the open field. Man is there. As Prince Bambi told me, Man will try to get behind us and chase us into the open where they will kill us. Stay in the deep forest. Man should not find us there."

There were no arguments this time. The other deer left and ran into the deeper woods. She stayed still. She knew she was in no danger here and she wanted to hear what man would do. Kelo did not like that, but she insisted. Nothing happened for the rest of the day.

That night, very faintly she could hear Man shouting. She could also smell Man's fire. It was only after the lesser light disappeared that the shouting stopped. By then that the wind shifted so it blew from her side. She could smell nothing from the open field. There was also no other sounds from the open field. They ate in the small clearing along with Relnor and many others and drank in a small stream. She dreaded morning, but there was nothing more she could do.

Come the morning, they all heard in the distance the sound of Man coming into the forest.

"We need to leave," she told those in the clearing. She then turned toward her new den and hurried away, but did not run. They found their thicket and lay down as not to easily seen. Soon she heard banging noise from behind her.

"HEEEYYYYAAAAHOOOOO," the men called out and banged things together. She heard the shouting all morning, but always far away from them. Man had not gotten behind them. She also did not hear any sounds of killing sticks. Man had not been able to chase anyone into the open. That meant they were safe. The shouting and banging continued all day, but no sounds of killing sticks.

Next morning there was quiet. Again, the wind blew from the open field, but it brought no smell of Man or even of smoke. She wondered if Man had gone, but decided to wait the day in her thicket.

"Man may have given up and gone elsewhere," she told Kelo.

"And no killing sticks," Kelo said. "No deer died thanks to you," he said and kissed her. Inwardly she was proud she had managed to keep Man from killing any of them. She still did not move from the thicket except to eat and drink. When they heard nothing the next morning, then she felt it was safe. They walked to the small meadow and she saw Relnor there. He saw her and came over to her.

"You and your Father were right," he said happily. "Man killed no deer," he said.

The others gathered around her congratulating her that no one was hurt. Even the males looked happy. She enjoyed finally getting someone to appreciate that she was smart enough to act like her Father. It was one of the happiest moments of her life.

That feeling continued for a few days. There was no sign of Man and she hoped that the hunts would be over. Two risings of the greater light later, there came one morning when she heard the sound of many killing sticks. They were not nearby but instead coming from her Father's forest. She could also hear the yelping of dogs in the distance. She knew Man had brought dogs to her Father's forest to run down and kill deer.

She took Kelo and searched the forest looking for Relnor and the others to tell him.

"That is bad," he told her. "However, if they come here we can just run into the forest again."

"Not with dogs," she told him. "Dogs can smell us and lead Man to us. Man uses dogs to run down deer. The dogs either attack the deer or make so much noise that Man soon comes with his killing stick. My Grandfather told me you can hide from Man, but you cannot hide from dogs. The only way to avoid them is to go even deeper into the forest and hope the dogs do not notice your scent. We should do this now before they come."

Relnor shook his head. "I could call the deer deeper into the forest," he said.

"No," one of the senior males standing next to him said. "If we do that we lose the grass in the open field. We need to feed on that with winter coming. There is no danger here and I do not think we should move unless we see danger like before."

"If you see dogs, it may already be too late to run," she told him.

The senior looked down his nose at her seeming to be annoyed. "Have you ever been chased by dogs," the male said eyeing her coldly.

"No," she answered boldly, "But my Father and Grandfather have and they told me how they survived."

"When I see the dogs, I will run," he said.

She shrugged, "If you see the dogs, it may too late. Dogs can run longer than a deer and will run you down. They also bring Man with them. Man brings his killing sticks."

"I can run faster than any dog," the male said with contempt and turned away from her.

"I will think about this," Relnor said and left with the other senior male. No doubt he did not want to look weak in front of one of his senior males.

This left her burning inside. Kelo must have seen it. He nuzzled her gently. "They are right, we can run faster than a dog," he told her.

She turned quickly seeing where this was going. "You can run faster for a while, but my Father told me you cannot run longer than a dog. They do not tire as we do. When we become exhausted and have to stop, they keep coming and calling to their masters at all the time. The dogs will attack the deer and sometimes tear them apart, or they call the Man to the exhausted deer and he uses his killing sticks on it."

She spent the next day telling the deer what to do if they heard dogs. Many listened to her. Some thought like the Relnor's senior male and did not pay attention. It did not matter what anyone said. The moment she knew a dog was nearby, she was leaving for the deep forest near her thicket.

The sound of killing sticks came from her Father's forest for several mornings. Then it stopped. It was the day after that that she started hearing noises from the open field. There were first banging noises and the shouting of Man. The there were grinding noises and the shouting got louder near dark. At dark, she could hear barking from the open field. Man had brought dogs.

She searched frantically for Relnor and found him in the small meadow. She came up to him.

"I heard Man and dogs in the open field," she told him. "We must flee deep into the forest."

Relnor looked around him. "I think this is far enough. We can run deeper in the forest if we hear dogs getting closer."

"You are still too close to the dogs," she told him. "They will be here tomorrow."

"I do not think so," the senior male said. "Take care of your own self, doe," he told her.

Relnor did nothing else. She ignored him and went around the forest telling every deer she could find to flee deep into the forest. She could see Kelo was anxious at what she was doing. Doe usually did not give the herd advice as she well knew. Some deer did not believe her. Many others did and left. It was late in the evening when she finally looked up and told her mate. "It is time we leave. I am going back to our thicket. We should both be safe there."

"Are you sure," Kelo asked looking nervous.

Not him too, she thought. They could not see the danger like she could. "The only thing I am sure of is that we are too close to Man and his dogs," she said as forcefully as she could. "What Man will do when the great light comes, no one knows, but I will not allow myself to get killed by some dog or some Man. I am leaving for my thicket. You can come if you want."

With that, she left and made her way quickly into the deeper forest. She moved quietly past the small meadow, past the stream, and into the thick canopy of trees. She knew the way. She also went alone. Kelo stayed behind. Although she felt something for her mate, she was not going to let him tell her what to do. She was certainly not going to die with him.

It was after the great light rose when she reached her thicket. She drank in a small pool and ate some grass she found in the few open patches. It was enough to satisfy her and she lay down. It was a while later she heard something moving through the forest and caught a familiar scent.

"Come lie down next to me," she told him.

Kelo appeared from the trees. "I thought I was quiet," he said.

"You still need to practice," she told him. "Now lie here, wait, and listen."

It was quiet for a while and then they heard it.

"WHAMM," echoed through the forest. This time the noise was coming from this forest. That sound repeated several more times. A few sounded closer to them. Then in the distance, she heard the faint barking of dogs.

It was not long after that she heard sounds of breaking branches in the bushes along with the sound of rapid hoofs. A young male race by them; he was running past them into the deeper forest. He looked in a panic. Other followed shortly behind them. She managed to stop an older doe.

"What is happening," she called out.

The doe turned, saw her, and recognized her. "It was like you said," she gasped. "Man is using his dogs to run down the deer and kill them. As soon as I heard the barking, I fled like you told us too. Is this far enough?"

"Yes, as long as the barking does not get louder, we are fine," she said. "Rest for a while."

The doe stayed nearby still panting, trying to get breath back in her. She was just the first. Others came soon afterward: there were doe with this year's fawns, there were yearlings, both male and doe, and some older doe. She did not see Relnor or any of the senior males. None of the herd males came. All the deer that came by told her they were fleeing from the dogs and Man. Soon they had many deer waiting next to her. She listened, and noted the despite the continued sounds of the killing sticks, the sound of the dogs did not get closer. She stayed still until it was well after dark. She then got up and talked to the other deer there.

"We need to stay here until we are sure Man has left," she said.

"Is it safe here?" one of the yearling males asked.

"Yes, but we must listen carefully," she told all of them. "If the sounds of Man or his dogs get louder, we will need to flee deeper into the woods. We should all spread out. Having too many deer close together will only help draw the dogs closer."

They all spread out doing as she asked. She then looked back at Kelo who just stared at her.

"You know, sometimes you talk like a male," he said.

She smiled broadly. "That is because my Father raised me to know what to do."

"I only hope he was right," he said and walked away back to their resting place.

That night they ate and drank nearby with the rest of those who had fled. A few more young deer joined them, but only two of the herd males. The deer said little and all were resting before the great light rose again. In the deep woods, the light did not fill the forest like near the openness of the meadow and open field, but it was light enough to see. There were no problems in hearing when Man used his killing sticks although the number of times they heard it was much less than the previous morning.

For two more mornings they stayed there until there was silence during the day. Two risings of the greater light went by without them hearing or smelling any sign of Man or dogs. Then Kelo and she cautiously went back first to the small meadow to look around. There were some deer there. They found nothing of danger except the smell of death. Looking at the circling birds, she found a herd male that had been hit my Man and managed to get away before he died. His flank ripped open by a killing stick.

That night they went to the open field and saw no one. Man was gone for now. They ate fully and looked around. They found only a few herd males. Some had teeth and claw marks of dogs on their bodies. Others had managed to get away without injury. All had stories. They all collected by the smaller meadow and were stunned. They found a few fawns that had lost their mothers to the hunts. What they never found was Relnor and his two senior males. They were gone.

Over the next several days, many deer asked her what they should too. She told them to watch carefully and eat as much as they could. She knew the winter would soon be here. It was only after several days of confusion the herd got together in the field.

One of the few herd males called to her. "You told us to flee or Man might kill us. You were right," he said.

"You saved us," a doe with fawn said.

"Another of the herd males asked Kelo. "Are you the herd leader now?"

She looked around. Yes, Kelo was the largest male that was still alive. "Do you want to be herd leader?" she asked him.

"I am not a herd leader," he said looking a bit frightened. "Your Father and brother would be better than me."

"They are not here," she said bluntly. "You and I are here and they trained me. I can help you if you want."

She knew the other deer would never accept a doe as herd leader, but her mate was now the biggest deer in the herd. She could tell the others what to do, or have Kelo tell them. It would take time to build the herd up again. It would mean letting him have the pick of the doe for The Season, but that is the way male deer were. She would also have his fawns who she could train to take their place.

"If you help me then yes, I will be herd leader," he said but not convincingly.

"Well ask the others," she told him. "My Father and Grandfather said a herd leader is chosen by the herd. See if any of the herd males say no. You can easily beat anyone here who will challenge you."

Kelo did not look convinced but asked all the deer in the open field if they accept him as herd leader.

No one said no.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: BLOOD

By the time he got back to Faline, Geno, Lina, and Eta, they had all gathered closely around the thicket. Faline looked up at him with obvious worry on her face.

"Geno told me what he saw," Faline said; her voice shaking.

"We need to stay still and listen carefully," he said trying to sound reassuring. "We are far enough from the meadow so that if dogs come we will have time to hear them and run."

The idea of dogs still scared them. He remembered well the time dogs nearly killed Faline and him. She had been afraid of them ever since. Dogs frightened him too; he still had claw marks on his hindquarters when they attacked him. He would not admit that fear to his family or the herd.

The sky is beginning to lighten," Geno said looking off into the distance. "If Man is coming, he will be here soon."

"Lie down and rest," he told the others. "We may need it soon."

He lay down next to Faline with the twin lying next to him and Geno lying across from him. All they could do now was wait.

It was not long after the sky became light that he heard it, the distant yelping of many dogs. The noise got louder. That was all he needed to hear. He knew what Man was going to do.

"They are not going to chase the deer into the meadow," he told them getting up quickly. The others just as quickly followed. "Man is going to use the dogs to run us down and then either have the dogs tear us to pieces, or to follow them with their killing sticks. This is much worse than before. We need to run now.

"Back to the old cave?" Geno asked.

"No," he told them. "Man may come from the other filed near there and trap us between them. We must go there," he said and pointed to his left with his nose. "The ground is less hilly there and there is enough grass and small streams for food and water."

He leaped away and moved quickly through the trees and bushes. The other followed him closely. They did not run. Running makes too much noise and tires them out too quickly. Instead, they hurried quickly, but quietly. At first, the yelping got louder. Then he heard "WHAMMMM," that repeated as Man used his killing stick. The dogs sounded excited as if chasing something. He felt cold on the inside; man was after his herd and there was nothing he could do about it.

As they moved, he thought he could hear the yelping get louder. There may have been some deer screams, but it was too far away for him to be sure. They went on until he could hear nothing behind them. That was good because soon the trees thinned out leaving only short bushes and tree saplings. Around them stood the remains of dead trees that were burnt up in the fire two seasons ago. They were bare. They had entered that part of the forest Man had burnt down before. They found cover in some half burnt pine trees and got low to the ground. All of them stayed there and huddled.

The great light was still climbing to overhead when they heard more dogs. The sounds got louder and more frequent. They were after someone else. This time the scream was louder, much closer, and followed quickly by the sound from a killing stick. The barking then stopped.

"Father, I am scared," Eta said looking at him. Her black eyes were shaking, as was her body.

"We are safe here," he told her. "We will be fine here." He hoped that was true.

The great light rose to overhead. He heard more sounds of the killing sticks: louder dog barking, even some Men shouting. They were hunting all over the forest. There were many men and dogs. The winds brought many different putrid scents of Man to his nose. More than he could remember from before. He had never seen this kind of hunting before. He started to wonder if anywhere was safe. The hunting went on until it was almost dark and then it stopped. Only after it was completely dark, did he allow himself or any of the others to get up. He looked around him. They were at the edge of the old forest. If they had to run from here, they would be mostly in the open. This place was unsafe if they were chased. He got up and all of them fed on the new plant growth. Hardly anyone said anything. He decided to go back the way they came to inside the denser part of the forest. It might be easier to hide in there if the dogs chased them.

They walked toward a small stream he knew about it when they all picked up the smell. It smelled as if someone had emptied himself, and there was an earthy rotten smell. He knew from the past that earthy smell was blood. The smell got worse the closer they got to the stream. Finally, he saw it. Lying still on the ground was a fox.

"Let me look," he told the others. He walked up and looked at the body. It was dead. It was also mutilated. The dogs bit deeply into its side and tail taking out chunks of flesh. Deep claw marks were on the back. The side of the poor creature was ripped open by a killing stick and its insides oozed on the ground with lots of blood. Even though he did not like foxes because they would kill fawns, he could not help but feel sorry for the poor creature that died horribly. Its face still showed the agony of its last moments. They were light footsteps behind him. His son came up to look.

"How can anyone do this?" he said looking pale "Even the bears don't leave who they eat like this."

"Man is worse than bear and foxes," he told his son. "The bears, foxes, deer, and other creatures all belong in the forest and live within it. Man does not live here and cares little for what he does."

"Let us leave this place," Geno said. "It is sickening."

"Yes," he said, "But it still teaches a lesson to us of what happens if Man catches us. We can expect to die like this fox."

"The only ones who will do well after Man finishes are the scavengers," his son said and walked off.

He made sure Faline and the twins did not see the remains. Like his son, it made him feel sick to his stomach. They found the stream and all took long drinks. He looked around and saw how thickly the trees and other plants grew near the source of water. It would be a good place to hide.

"We will stay near here," he told the others. "It is easy to hide in and we can run in any direction if Man and his dogs come."

Geno took in large breaths through his nose. "I smell nothing around here," he said.

They moved around for the rest of the night grazing more of the grass and then emptying themselves away from this place so the scent of their waste would not draw the attention of the dogs. As soon as he saw the first sign of light in the sky he found the best-concealed site nearby and they all lay down to get what sleep they could.

There was not much rest. As soon as the sky was light, the barking started again. It sounded as if the dogs were going in many directions searching for animals for their masters. He listened and this time the barking sounded like it went away from them instead of towards them. Even in the distance, they could all easily hear the loud barking from many dogs. There was never a problem in hearing the killing sticks. It did not matter, they all stayed together and they all stayed still for most of the day. This time nothing came their way. It was after the great light was overhead that he heard a loud crashing noise in the distance. Someone was running through the forest. He looked up and a yearling doe ran close to them. He barked once and called to her. The doe either did not hear him or did not care because she continued to run past him. He listed but did not hear or smell any Man or dog following her. She was just in a panic running blindly.

The barking noises changed as more dogs found things to chase. Often afterward, the sound of the killing sticks closely followed. What really bothered him and his family was the screams of deer being run down and attacked by the dogs. He hated that he could not do more to help his herd, but Man was everywhere. He would be lucky to save himself and his family.

When it was dark, the barking stopped and the forest was quiet. He wondered how badly the herd was suffering, but he was not going to go wandering in the forest to find out. Here he was safe for now.

Only after it was fully dark did they again move through the forest to find food and water. Fortunately, they did not have to go far from their hiding place. As they ate, he heard another rustling noise in the brush nearby. The wind brought the smell of a male deer. It was Atlan and he was coming toward them. He waiting until the senior male was right next to him before he called out.

"You are alive," he called out. "Bambi, it is terrible. There are many groups of Men and dogs going through the forest. The dogs chase a deer and then Man comes with his killing sticks. I do not know how many are dead. I know Delon is dead. The dogs ran him down. I heard him yell as they attacked him. There was a killing stick noise and all was quiet."

"What about the others?" he asked.

"I know many are dead," the senior male said, "But I do not know who. All I know is that I did not see a deer all night. I was trying to find a place safe from Man."

He did not think there was a safe place anywhere. This killing would continue until Man finished. Nothing his Father had taught him could prepare the herd for this. He might hide the herd from Man. He could not hide them from Man's dogs. They could smell from far away making it hard for them to hide.

"Bambi what do we do now?" the big male asked.

"Try and stay away from the dogs," he told him. "Man cannot find us on his own."

"That is why I came this way," Atlan said still looking behind him."

"The thick forest ends in that direction," he told him. It is where the trees burned before. Go that way and you will be in the open."

"I will go that way," Atlan said and pointed in front of them. "I will travel inside the trees at the edge of the forest. Hopefully, it is far enough away from the meadow that the dogs will not pick up on my scent."

Leave now," he told him. "The hunt will start again as soon as the great light rises."

"I will," the big male said and ran off.

Inwardly he was happy. Having too many deer in this part of the forest was sure to bring attention from the dogs and Man. He went back to his family and lay down. He could only hope they were far enough away where the dogs would not smell them.

The great light rose and again, the barking of dogs and the shouting of Men started up immediately. They remained in place for a while and then heard the barking getting closer. The noises from the killing sticks were also closer. Both Man and dog were coming his way.

"We need to go before they get closer," he told his family.

"Which way, Father?" his son asked.

"Toward the edge of the forest near where there was the fire," he said. "If they are still getting closer we will run along the edge of the forest until we get to the hills."

No one argued. They left their hiding place and moved quietly. Again, they moved as quickly as they could but did not run. It was not long before he saw burnt trees around him and the forest thinning out ahead of him. They were at the edge of the forest. There they stopped and caught their breath. The barking noise had lessened and he heard no sound of Man. This place looked safe for now.

"We can stay here," he said to them, but listen carefully and keep your noses in the air.

They rested for a while and then he heard it.

ARF... ARF...ARF," came from the open area in the burnt part of the forest. It was near.

"YEEEEHHHAAAAHOOOOOOO," he heard a Man shout near the dogs.

That was too close he knew. "We need to run along the trees toward the hills," he told his family

They all ran quickly away from the sound. Behind them, the barking increased. They ran straight ahead. The wind was at his back. He could not smell anything in front of him. At least the wind did not carry their ascents back to the dogs.

He heard at least one dog howl loudly. The dog smelled something. They ran as fast as they could, but it did not matter, the dogs stayed right behind them. They could not keep running like that, the fawns would get tired quickly. Although he could hear the dogs, he could not hear the Man behind them. That gave him an idea.

"The rest of you run toward the hills. I will lead them away," he told them.

He stopped and watched his family disappear into the forest. He looked around and found a place hidden from view. He emptied himself nearby so the dogs would follow the scent to him. All he could do was hope this would work.

It seemed only a short while later he saw movement in the trees. A large brown and white dog was running along the same path they had come by. The dog followed it until he came to the spot he had emptied himself. At that point, the dog turned and started to follow him. He looked back. He saw one other dog in the distance. He still had his rack. He put his head down and waited for the lead dog to get closer. The lead dog let out a powerful howl and came toward him. He waited until the dog was several lengths away then charged.

He bounded forward surprising the dog. The dog saw him and leaped. As he did, he brought his head up catching the dog in the air and throwing him aside. The dog flew through the air hitting the ground hard. The dog rolled to his feet and came at him again. He charged again, but the dog was ready for him. The animal leaped from his side and landed on his back. He immediately fell pain as the dog bit into him and used his claws. He reared up on his rear legs throwing the dog off his back. As he did, he kicked out hard with both rear legs. He felt his left hoof hit something solid and there was a cry of pain from the dog.

By now, the other dog was running at full speed toward him. He turned to run, but it was too late, the dog was there. Again, he kicked out with his rear legs and felt both hoofs hit the dog in the chest. There was a horrible yelling noise and the dog flew aside. He turned to see both dogs looking hurt. They were not attacking. Then he caught movement in the trees. This was no dog. It was a man with a killing stick. He leaped ahead twice and turned quickly.

"WHAMMMM," sounded close behind. Then something hit the tree next to him sending pieces of wood everywhere. He fled with all his strength. He ran back toward the meadow. He ran at full speed until he was tired. He stopped to catch his breath.

"WHAMMMM...WHAMMMM...WHAMMMM," he heard from the side of him. It was toward the direction his family had run.

He wanted to go and look, but he was too tired. His back also hurt and he was bleeding. He lay down on the ground and hoped no one else came after him. Fortunately, there were no more sounds of hunting for the rest of the day from where he had come from.

That night, after it was dark, he went off toward where his family had gone. His back hurt, but the bleeding had stopped. He needed to find more of the healing leaves before he got a fever. He looked through the forest smelling as he went. He had no idea where they could be now. He went towards the direction of his Father's cave. When he was sure no Man or dog was around, he called out loudly. Almost immediately, he heard another deer call out a ways away. It was Geno's voice. He started toward it. He bellowed twice more before he found his son moving through the forest, alone. He noticed he was limping slightly.

"Geno," he called out and ran up to his son. They met and he nuzzled him like a fawn. "What happened?" he asked.

"After you left we ran but the wind was in from our backs. I could see or smell nothing in front of us. As we got closer to the hills, I saw movement in the trees. I told mother and my sisters to go another way and I turned away. I leaped twice and the turned to my left quickly. I am glad I did."

Geno turned and showed his father his white bushy tail. The end of it was gone and the rest covered in blood. The killing stick had cut away the tip of his tail.

Geno gave a grin. "If I had not turned quickly, the killing stick would have hit me in the flank and I would be dead. Your teachings and Grandfather's save me."

He embraced his son. As he did, his son looked at him. "You have been attacked by dogs," he said.

"Yes two of them," he told him and explained what happened. "My Father taught me how to fight dogs so we are both alive because of him. Now, where are your mother and sisters?"

"I do not know," his son said. "After I turned and Man hit me I ran in a different direction from them hoping to lead Man and his dogs away. I have not seen them since."

Inside his heart glowed. His son had done the right things when it counted. He had learned his lessons. "Let us go find them," he said. He then looked at his son and said as sincerely as he could, "I am proud of you, my son. I could not have done better. You are ready to take your place in the herd."

Geno just nodded. They went looking in the forest, but he could not find a scent. Later after the lesser light rose, he called out to Faline.

A short while later he heard her reply. Both he and Geno walked quickly toward the sound. In the distance, he could hear other deer, both males, and doe, calling out. Some of them had survived. They looked and found Faline and Lina resting in cover. Eta was not there."

"I do not know where she is," Faline sobbed. "After Man used his killing sticks, we all separated. I found Lina, but not Eta. I was afraid to call out to her."

"I will go look for her," he said. "Geno can stay here."

"No, Father," you should stay here and I will go. I am not hurt as much as you are. If we get separated, or there is more hunting, I will meet you at Mother's thicket or Grandfather's cave."

Before he could say a word, Geno was off disappearing quietly into the trees and darkness.

He nodded and lay down next to Faline and Lina. If was then his mate noticed his injuries. "Does it hurt badly?" she asked.

"Some," he admitted. "I will get some of the healing leaves when Man leaves," he said looking in the direction Geno had gone. "He has grown, Faline. Our son has grown up. He is ready to lead."

"I know, and he is alive and well because of you as we are too," Faline said and nuzzled him, as did Lina.

During the rest of the night, he would hear Geno call out to Eta from time to time, but there was no response from his daughter. The calling stopped after a while and there was just silence until just before the greater light appeared. He heard and then smelled Geno approach. His son walked into the tress they were lying in. He had his head down and he looked awful. Faline next to him froze.

"What happened, my son," he asked.

"I found Eta," he said. "She was lying in the bushes not far from where Man used his killing sticks on her. She was hit in the shoulder. She managed to run a while, but she fell." He then looked up, his face full of dread. "Eta is gone," he barely stammered out. "By the time I found her, the scavengers were already there. I chased them away, but there was nothing more I could do so I just came back."

"Eta," Faline cried out and buried her head in his side. Lina was also sobbing.

Geno looked like he would burst out crying. He quickly got up and went over to his son. His own heart was breaking.

"There was nothing you could do, my son, he told him. "The rest of us survived."

He turned and wandered off. He felt too filled with sorrow to stay. Only when he was alone did he let his feelings out.

Once the day came, there were fewer sounds of the killing sticks. When they heard sounds, they were coming from Relnor's herd. He could only hope Gurri would be all right. They remained in place staying as still as possible until well after dark. They had to travel toward the hills to find water, but they managed to find enough nourishment to satisfy them.

He looked around. They were near the hill where his Father died. If they went ahead, they would come to the open meadow that they need to cross to get to Relnor's herd. This looked like another good place to hide for a while. He also saw no deer around them. When the great light rose, they all stayed there.

That day they more sounds of killing sticks and dogs during that day and the next coming from beyond his Grandfather's cave. There was nothing in his forest. It was quiet all around them. He stayed still and did not move even at night. After the next day, there were no sounds anywhere from Man or dog. He decided it was safe to go back to his meadow. That night they all traveled back to Faline's thicket where they ate and drank. After another day passed in quiet, he decided it was time to return to the meadow.

That night, he and Geno crept carefully onto the meadow and looked around. The smell of death from those killed still filled the air around them. There were several places on the meadow where it was obvious a deer had died. There were red stains in several places soaking into the grass. There were the prints of both Man and dog everywhere. The worse was the lingering putrid smell of Man that covered the meadow. Both his son and he waited to see if any of the herd came. He saw a couple of herd males come on to the meadow. A few doe with this year's fawns came. None of them stayed long, just long enough to eat and drink. It was late in the night when he saw Filon enter the meadow. He went over to him.

"Why, Bambi?" was the first thing he said to him. "I have seen Man hunt before, but not like this. He went around the forest using his killing stick on every deer he could see. I do not know how many I heard die, some very near me. I saw one herd male Carlan run down and torn at by the dogs. Man only came after the dogs finished with him and the deer was bleeding to death. It was then Man used his killing stick on the poor male. I know the dogs smelled me, but Man was too busy with Carlan and left me alone."

"Man did not kill just deer," he said and told Filon about the fox he found.

"This was bad," Filon said. "We have to do something different next year. We lost maybe one deer out of three."

"I know," he said. "My daughter Eta is dead."

"I am sorry, Bambi," Filon said. "I do not know who is alive or dead."

"Next time we will need to spread the herd out father from the meadow," he said thinking aloud. "Man and his dogs stayed near the meadow and the deer that stayed near the meadow died."

"That is good to know," Filon said. "The dogs chased me deep into the forest into a place I have never seen before. I think Man called them back, but it took me a while to find my way back."

"This was worse than anything my Father ever told me about," he said. "The only thing to do now is to see who comes back."

Man and his dogs did not return. Man left them in peace, but it took a while for deer to trust enough to come back. As the deer returned, he saw most of the doe and fawns were all right. A few fawns came back alone without mothers. He could only hope they survive the winter. There were many fewer herd males than before saw. Only Atlan and Filon returned from his senior males. All the others had gone. The yearlings were mostly unhurt. Man likes his deer bigger so he would hunt them next year.

No one talked to him about the hunts. Most were still in shock at what happened. Almost all the deer had stories of almost being killed by either the dogs or Man. All were still scared. No one criticized him about how he led the herd, but inside, he knew he should have been able to do better. He promised himself he would do so next Season. He had to. If there was another hunt like this, the herd would be gone.

Time went by and they forest remained quiet. Another season had passed. Soon their racks loosen and fell out ending the killing for this season. There would now be peace. The main thing now would be to use this time to put on enough weight to last through winter. Slowly the herd came back, what was left of it, and things moved on as they always did,

On the first night, he noticed the chill of winter he stood next to the meadow with Filon and Geno. They were watching the herd eating.

"I hope this winter is mild," Filon said. Many of the fawns that lost mothers will not survive a very harsh winter."

"I know," he said. "We may have to show some of them where to find food."

"I will do that if necessary," Geno said. "I am just happy the hunts are over."

"So am I," Filon answered. "The problem is they keep coming back. There seem to be nothing we can do except die."

"We can always do something," he told them. "We must do something. This cannot happen next season."

"We can only do the best we can," Geno answered before adding, "And hope it is enough."

His Father could not have said it better.

EPILOGUE

He looked down from his cave at the forest below. Spring had come again. The last winter had been milder than before. Snow only covered the ground twice. They only lost a few deer, mostly fawns that had lost their mothers in the hunts. Most that died were killed by hungry foxes and coyotes and not hunger. With help from Filon and his son, several orphaned fawns were shown how to find food and how to avoid the dangers of the forest. His own daughter Lina had come through alright and he had taught her many things about the forest during the time they spent together. He had seen her in with the yearling herd the previous night. She would be fine.

He looked out beyond the hill and across the open field toward Relnor's old herd. Another spring had started. He had gone away when Faline told him she was ready to give birth to their fawns. Lina had said she stay with her mother during the day. There was a noise below and he smelled a deer coming up the path. It was his son. He had gone over to the other herd after it the spring grass started to grow back fully. Geno told him he wanted to see his sister and the two doe he had bred last Season. He was surprised he was back so quickly.

He listened to the quiet hoofs climb the rocky path and soon could smell his son's scent clearly.

"I am here, my son," he called out.

Geno walked up smiling. Hello, Father," he said and rubbed his side against his.

"How is the other herd," he asked.

"Well, Gurri and Kelo had a nice looking male fawn. He reminds me of how Grandfather said you looked when you were born. Gurri named him after you Father. There is a second Bambi in the forest."

His heart felt light at the news and he shed a tear of happiness. "Thank you, my son," he said, "Now what about your two doe?"

I saw both Margo and Edgi. Margo had a doe fawn and Edgi had a male. They did not want me around. I asked them if they like me to stay, but neither of them were interested in me. That is why I decided to come back. I think from now on I will look for my doe in this herd."

"Most doe are like that," he told him. "At least you know you have children. How is the herd over there?"

"Not good," his son told him. "Relnor and his senior males died in the hunts when Man came with his dogs. Kelo is now herd leader."

That left him uneasy, Kelo had no training like he and his children had. "What does Gurri think about that?"

"She does not seem to care," he said nodding his head. "There is one thing for sure, Kelo has become herd leader, but Gurri tells him what to do. After the hunts last Season, only the deer that listened to Gurri and fled into the deep woods lived. Now all the deer listen to her. She told me she will train young Bambi like you trained her. She also asks if you and mother could come over later on this season. Kelo could use advice from you."

"That we will have to see about that," he said. "Come, I want to look in on your mother."

Both took paths through the forest that few others used. Both walked in silence. It was after the greater light appeared that they returned to Faline's thicket. Outside, not so little Lina stood guard."

"Hello, Father," she said and licked his face and then Geno's.

"How is your mother?" he asked.

"I am fine," she called and then got up and walked out of the thicket. There, lying on the grass, were two spotted fawns recently born. Both were quivering and asleep. He put his head in and took a deep breath through his nose. There were a male and a doe. There was no sickness in them he could smell. Both fawns looked healthy.

"The male I will call Silor, the doe I will call Dena," if you do not mind."

Geno then put his head in and got both of their faint scents. "I will help if you need me," he said. Geno then explained what he had seen in the other forest. Faline was happy about Gurri and a little disappointed with how things turned out for Geno.

"If you do not mind, I will sleep here today and join the herd males tonight on the meadow," Geno said and went over to lie down.

"I will help Mother," Lina told him, "But I want you to teach me like Gurri."

He looked down at his rapidly growing daughter thinking that once again it begins. "I will teach you," he told his daughter. "I will also stay around for a few days," he went on, "At least until the fawns are ready to travel." He looked again at the sleeping fawns and went over to Faline. He kissed her passionately on the mouth. "Thank you again for this greatest of all gifts," he told her.

"They are mine also," Faline said, "And we will teach them like we taught the others."

With that Faline went back to lay next to his new children. He lay down in front of the thicket, his son lay near him, and his daughter laid again his left side. It was great to have a family. Especially a family he could be proud of.

It was indeed one of life's greatest gifts.

_THE END_

_Author's note: If you have read my story, I would like to hear your comments. The only way I know how good or bad of a story I wrote is to have feedback from the reader. Also let me know if you think this was an improvement over my first version. Please let me know what you think. wilberarron _

_Thank You_

_WA_


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